There’s no question that results come from employees. There’s only so many hours in the day, and one quickly learns, especially as you progress higher in an organization, that results come from below, not from you doing everything. The Executive must develop strategy to accomplish company goals, communicate the tactics needed to accomplish that strategy to their team, and make sure they execute. That’s the ultimate way in which execution happens in an organization.
Too many Executives try to do everything themselves, remaining as technications, rather than Executives. I’m not saying Executives don’t actually work, because there’s plenty of times you’ve got to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. However, you’ve got to make sure your contribution moves the needle.
The more an Executive’s work can consist of (a) identifying problems and opportunities and then (b) correcting problems and capitalizing on opportunities, the better off the business and the more effective the Executive. The Executive increases their effectiveness if their own contribution consists of higher and higher level tasks in contributing to correcting problems and capitalizing on opportunities. If the Executive has to concentrate on low level tasks that should be done by a lower paid team member, the Executive can’t be effective.
In order to operate at a higher level, the Executive must develop the best team possible underneath them, with an organizational structure that puts each person in the best position to be effective themselves.
Many Executives complain about a lack of resources when it comes to getting things done. They complain that they don’t have the budget to hire the talent needed, and if they were only given a few more people they could do more. Budgets are always going to be limited, and you’ve got to take an honest look at your team and make sure they’re not part of what’s limiting results.
If your team is the limiting factor its probably a combination of your own competence as a manager and the quality. Always look inward first. You must get better as a strategist, develop better tactics in collaboration with your team, and follow up to ensure things get done.
You’ve also got to develop your team, by providing them honest feedback about their limitations and what’s holding them back from greater success. I find that difficult, honest conversations often lead to huge steps forward for my employees. It’s critical that you identify such weaknesses, communicate them, and find a way to get them corrected.
You also need to always look at your team, and ensure that you’ve got “the right people on the bus”, to quote “Jim Collins”. This means constantly finding talent (from outside and within your organization), developing people, and replacing those who can’t or won’t do a good job with those who can and will.
The most difficult aspect of this is replacing those who can’t or won’t do a good job. Too many managers are ineffective because they’re unwilling to identify and point out shortcomings of their team and move on from those who can’t or won’t correct. Don’t let this happen to you.
Find people, develop them, and move on from those who can’t or won’t get things done. That’s the basics to effective management, and something I’ll be exploring in depth.