Does your team really know your intent?

Does your team really know your intent?

Does your team really know your intent?

It's easy to think of all the areas where teams struggle.  All of us, at some time, have had a team where we just keep missing the mark. “Why didn’t that project get finished the way it should have? I thought I was clear.  Didn’t he know my expectations?  They just aren’t getting it.”

It all leads back to a simple question – Does your team really know your intent?  You have probably experienced success in your career, hitting a home run or two.  However, as a leader, it isn’t about personal accomplishments, it’s about your team’s accomplishments and ability to succeed.

You worked hard to form a team with varied strengths. Do you sit the team down and choreograph every detail of what he/she needs to do each and every day?  Of course not!  We as leaders need our teams to understand our vision and intent. We need to clearly define success. What goals do we need to accomplish?  What is our success criteria?  What tools and support will your team need to succeed?  What resources and budget are at their disposal?  You need to give them all the pertinent information needed in a way that they understand and relate to, so they are empowered to think, create, innovate and find ways to solve the equation.  They will not do it exactly how you would. That is okay!  The point is to have your team paint that picture of success.

This is the same training taught in the military.  It is called the “Commander’s Intent”.  The true definition is “A clear, concise statement of what the force must do and the conditions the force must meet to succeed with respect to the enemy, terrain and the desired end state.”  Many years ago, the battlefield was choreographed and scripted in detail.  The soldiers were told where they would be, how to use their equipment and it was done in such detail that their detail went down to the minute.  It sounded great until the first bullet flew!  Then shock sets in, you can’t remember what time you are supposed to be where, and what was the point of that vehicle?  Commander’s Intent set out to solve this.  It wasn’t detailed briefs with countless pages.  It could be all described in even one page.  Commander’s Intent stated the purpose of the mission, what success looked like, coupled with the timeline and clear goals.  It prevents you from over controlling the situation, while helping you give the pertinent information needed.  Let your soldiers (team) accomplish the rest.  Of course, you can have milestones to know how things are progressing, but resist temptation of controlling everything.  You are showing and building trust in your team.

Giving your team the intent for their current job and projects, empowers them to feel like they can use their ingenuity to solve issues and adapt along the way.  Bandwidth is expanded on your team.  Your time will be better spent because you will not always be asked, “What should I do next?”  Confidence grows in your team and, as you reinforce the behavior by celebrating wins, your team is becoming a formidable force that develops into a pipeline of future leaders.

The question to ask…Does your team really know your intent?

Charles St-Hilaire

IT Contractor / Consultant en informatique

9 年

For most of resource intent is make money in order to reach them personal goal. If your resource intent match your leader intent you are probably lucky that is not meaningless. Its also a big difference between to have intent and to have result capability. My best advise is work hard to keep your best resource where they should be.

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Michel Gareau, CD

Senior Manager PSPC Intelligence Fusion Center (Security and Intelligence Analysis Division) at Public Services and Procurement Canada | Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada

9 年

I agree Fred. I have also witnessed several situations where frustration within the team was growing because of apparent confusion and lack of understanding of the objective and intent. I did propose on some occasions to actually use some typical military approach such as mission analysis to help develop a better shared understanding of overall project intent and individuals responsability

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Fred Aubin, CD MCGI

Retired .... and I really mean it this time.

9 年

Good article ... since I've moved over to the private sector, one of the most recurring issues I've seen is incoherence in defining and clearly articulating commander's intent (CEO's intent, et al). Without it, unity of purpose and unity of action become highly problematic.

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Josh Stanley

Managing Partner, Fieldbook Studio / 6x Co-Founder

9 年

Great article! You always did a fantastic job of defining a vision and empowering your teams to succeed. Thanks.

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Chris Jones, MBA

Storyteller | People & Product Builder

9 年

Great article Jason. Thanks for writing.

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