Whether you are struggling to sustain desired results, overcoming a long period at a plateau level, or just needing some positive momentum, you may be searching for the answers. I have seen organizations spend significant amounts of money on technicians to help with mechanical and electrical issues in manufacturing. I have seen commercial organizations engage consultants to help re-direct and train sales professionals to be more effective in their respective approaches to the market. I have also seen organizations in all segments turn to many new initiatives to help with turnover and staffing issues. I am sure all of these have value to varying degrees, but also believe that many are still struggling in so many areas.
So what does a leader do? While every situation can be unique and situational based, there are some constants that play into every case regardless of segment, market, or geographic region. The real question is whether we are willing to spend the time and money to heal the organization at it's core rather than to merely focus on improving the functional aspects of the business. Here are a few questions that might be helpful to guide a senior leadership group through a tough process of taking that next step to getting on a desirable path for the organization.
- What is our purpose? Let's get away from the old mission statements of the 1980's that are filled with many fancy words and look great on boardroom walls and websites. All organizations know what they do, but few know why they do it. Why does the business exist? What purpose are you looking to fulfill? Don't limit your response to make money or return the cost of capital. There has to be more than that. Who are you looking to serve? Whose lives are you looking to impact? What cause can you advance? What can your goods do to enhance life? Your people want to connect to a purpose to fulfill not just go to work to complete a task.
- Are you building a team? Teams are a group of people united by purpose. Everyone uses the term "team" today. Very few are really a team, but rather just a group of individuals doing tasks that may/may not be interrelated, and yes, they get paid by the same organization. They aren't a team though. Why does that matter? People want to connect with others in a team work environment. Leaders build teams. Managers develop systems and processes. Both are important. Organizations need both!
- Is your strategy sound? If you executed the strategy at a high level, would you get the results you want? Are you capable of executing your strategy at that level on a sustainable basis? If not, the strategy is not sound. Strategy is asking yourself: Are we doing right things? Execution is asking yourself: Are we doing things right? They work together. A sound strategy can be executed at a high level and delivers desired results when executed well. Your people want to connect with a future. A well communicated strategy will provide a vision and a pathway for your team to connect.
- Have you defined the win? Have you clearly defined what success looks like at every phase and level of the operation? Does everyone know what "winning" is for their respective facility, department, division, etc.? They need to know and need to know as often as possible. If you want to move your people from a renter mentality to an ownership culture, you will have to connect them with what success looks like (see my book: People are the Plan for more on this subject).
- Does the organizational structure still make sense? Are you able to deliver value quickly and efficiently to the revenue generating streams or do you find yourself serving the requirements of what were once support services? Over time, these support services can become entities that become takers and not givers. They may not even realize what's happened, but the focus has changed subtly over the years. Organizations need to connect closely with their customer base and revenue streams. You need a clear understanding of your markets and not get overly focused on maneuvering the internal organizational structure.
Those are just five questions to ask. Maybe those are hard questions that a senior team needs to spend some time discussing. There are obviously others that need may need to be addressed, but this gives you an idea. One key theme you may have picked up on is the need "to connect". I have spoke to groups on aspects of the above and met with leadership teams to ask these hard questions. It's easier to turn this over to someone to address some functional areas (and those can be helpful), but sometimes it's worth asking the hard questions and taking a deep look at the organization's core!
What next step do you need to take? Let me know if I can help.
