Staying the Same. What Are You Missing?
Building and growing a team is not a chore, but a privilege. Too often, I've observed behaviors from managers and directors that would (incorrectly) suggest the former. So, I’ll ignore that part, and I’ll focus just on leaders being observers. To tell the story, let’s use a fun fitness analogy.
Imagine two teams heading to workout. Each with a leader who takes them through a workout that includes a 10-mile run, 30 minutes of weight training, and 5-10 minutes of cool down.
Team one, drives to the gym and the leader has everyone hop on the treadmills to knock out their 10 mile run. The leader shouts encouragement to the team every few minutes. When the leader hits 10 miles, they all leave the treadmills and the leader shares the checklist of workouts to be completed at different stations. At the end of 30 minutes, the leader gets the team together for a 10 minutes of stretching and they leave to get cleaned up. Solid workout.
Team two, begins with the leader telling the team about the workout and what to expect. Then they take off and run 3 miles to the gym. They get there, get into buddy pairs and begin a rotation of working out - 1 mile on treadmill followed by 10 min of weights. The team lead rotates between each pair to check on progress and share motivation. They repeat that 3 times, then run a mile on treadmill and come together for their 10minutes of stretching. They then leave and run the 3 miles home.
领英推荐
You are a boss and you lead by example, arriving at the gym before either team. Team 1 arrives 20 minutes ahead of Team 2. Team 2 is already stretching when Team 1 begins weight training. You see Team 2 leave after only putting in 4 miles and Team 1 is still committed to a hard workout. That Team 1 leader… he drives a committed team. But what didn’t you see?
You didn’t see that Team 1 didn’t all run 10 miles… the leader did. You didn’t see if everyone in team 1 completed their work out, you saw the leader give them a check list. You heard the Team 1 leader be vocal, but you didn’t see if anyone heard him or if he was paying attention to the others on the treadmills, checked their time, distance or if they were pushing themselves. They probably all had headphones on anyhow – each isolated as individuals within the team.
You didn’t see that Team 2 started working out first – the 3-mile run to the gym. You didn’t see while Team 1 was running in place in a controlled environment, Team 2 ran with wind, distractions, at varying ability that the leader led to the same location, uneven pavement, vehicles… Team 2 literally, covered ground while Team 1 ran in place. You didn’t see the Team 2 Leader verbally, physically and emotionally connect with each team as he visited each pair during their workout, beginning with the run to the gym. You didn’t see Team 2 Leader ensure each person tested their comfort zone and entered their growth zone.
You didn’t see, Team 1 running in place and staying the same while Team 2 was building, growing, becoming more connected, more agile and more capable. As a Leader of Leaders, it is your responsibility to know the difference between someone running on a treadmill, and someone building and growing the team and capabilities. If you want to stay the same – keep your treadmill team. If you want to grow, change or build business agility – you need Team 2. If you wait for the team to come to you, you will only ever see what the team leader wants you to see. Team 1 has the advantage. If you want to see what is really going on – catch them before they leave for the gym.