A New View Of The Leadership Matrix

As leaders, there are a variety of things we do that fall into different buckets and let’s face it – those buckets aren’t always the things we should personally be doing. They don’t have high value to the organization compared to our other responsibilities, but we can’t altogether remove them from the equation.

Still, we know this much – the more work we do in the trenches that someone else could handle, the more we keep ourselves from solving more significant problems.

This is where we need to transition to a state of mind where everything we touch must be a larger issue to address rather than a box next to a task to check. In turn, we can set a strategy and identify those best suited to carry out the plan.?

To use a football analogy, you may view yourself as a Quarterback in that you lead an offense, but you can also fall into the trap of viewing yourself as a Head Coach and General Manager hired by a client (Owner).

You can’t possibly wear all those hats and hope to win regularly.

As a leader, you have to be more of the General Manager who charts the course for where your team needs to be headed. This includes evaluating and drafting the best talent to build your team with.

Those people are ready and willing to do the work instead of you.

The fundamental disconnect that leaders can have happens when one of them says, “Oh, I can just do it myself.”

While you could, you shouldn’t.

Because if you’re the GM who tries to seize the clipboard from your Head Coach or, worse, tries to insert yourself into the game to play Quarterback, you’ll lose embarrassingly and severely.?

This isn’t a winning strategy and in a business arena, it doesn’t scale for what you want to do if getting to the next level is a goal. So, what is a viable approach?

The Leadership Matrix Redefined

Let’s stick with the football realm for the time being. Even if you aren’t an avid sports fan, you can adapt the terminology I will use to another area that’s much more familiar to you afterward.

First, create a table.

In the first column, include the titles of the key influencers.

In this case, we’ll use the Owner at the top of the column, moving down the ladder to coaches and then players. Suppose you are more comfortable using business titles. In that case, you can have the CEO at the top, then C-suite individuals such as the COO/CMO/CFO, directors, department managers and key employees.

Next, in the second and third columns, describe the roles – using football and business descriptions. Go through each one and write down the three most critical high-level things that each one is responsible for: First, their impact on the team, then their effect on the business.

?For example, let’s take the Owner. The Owner may be directly responsible on the football side for making hiring and firing decisions and even being heavily involved in decisions on trades and draft picks.

On the business side, they could be responsible for any combination of team structure, control over day-to-day operations, definition and communication of management responsibilities, most of the financial oversight and risk management associated with the team and many more.

The General Manager acquires what he hopes to be the right combination of players. The Head Coach is responsible for those players executing on the field. If either falls short with a losing team, the business impact could be lower ticket sales, lower merchandise sales, and fewer opportunities to upgrade the team’s talent pool in the off-season.

Your Turn: Where And How Do You Fit Within The Leadership Matrix?

What are the direct responsibilities of each major team member from the CEO on down? What more considerable impact can each of them have on the business?

As you think these roles through, which one(s) should you be performing, which one(s) are you performing and which one(s) should you not be performing? What impact do you want to have on the business? Plotting this on the leadership matrix will help define where your skills are best utilized.

Suppose you are already in a leadership position. In that case, it will help define the context of each influential team member directly under you and those several levels down that you should also seek to understand.

Capture It All, Then Adapt For Each Client.

The key to this table is first to capture it in writing. From there, changes can be made as appropriate to you and your clients. This way, for each client, you can say,

“On this page for Client X, here’s where I am on the Leadership Matrix. Based on my goals, do I want to go up or down from this position? What do I need to learn to ascend?”

It also makes sense to take stock of your daily activities so that you can say,

“OK, I’m doing the activity I want. But I also seem dragged into other activities I don’t want. What’s changed to cause that? Have certain responsibilities from someone else shifted to create a void I need to fill?”

Within the Leadership Matrix, make four or five bullet points on what you haven’t done so that when you think about every interaction with a client, you can take two or three minutes to reflect on what you have done. What was good? What was bad? What do I view my role as compared to what I don’t view my role as?

When you do that, you will become much more conscious of what you have, want and can appreciate as you chart your growth for continued success.

Remember, a leader does not need to be the best at doing everything. You can’t possibly fulfill that. Instead, make it your role to find the best people and get them onto the team. Finding people who are great at one or two things and good at others will further build the team’s strength.?

No matter where you are on the Leadership Matrix, whether you’re a CEO who wants to solidify his position at the top or a manager with C-suite aspirations, Spitulnik Advisors can help clarify a path that merges seamlessly with where you want to be. Even the people at the top can keep progressing in developing their best traits.

Let’s discover your best, rarest and most powerful qualities together at 312.593.3181 or email [email protected].

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