Building The Leadership Ecosystem - Part 2
Observations
Without exception all the great leaders I have worked with pay considerable attention to how things get done, which is primarily driven by The Leadership Rhythm.
The Leadership Rhythm is the lifeblood of the organisation which translates The Leadership Narrative into action.
A successful Leadership Rhythm:
Drives performance which creates value.
Creates a sense of momentum and belief.
Shapes the right conversations (level, participation and framing).
Sets the tempo for the organisation.
Ensures the totality of the Leadership Agenda is addressed and connected.
Provides the tram rails to help individuals act as leaders.
It requires the leader to take the role of conductor (setting the focus, style, level and tempo) and ratchet (injecting constructive pressure into the system and constantly raising standards).
Framework
These are the areas I encourage my clients to think about:
Signature Processes
In my experience there are typically about a dozen signature processes that shape and drive the performance of the business. They vary by organisation and often include: strategic reviews, business planning, NPD, risk, talent, programme management, financial (budgets, capex) etc.
The Exec Team needs to take the overall ownership, with the leader of each signature process taking responsibility for the specific shape, conversation and outputs.
It is critical that the signature processes act as the life blood of the organisation and are not seen as some bureaucratic governance process.
Meeting Cadence
I am unashamedly a fan of the meeting as a key leadership tool. To add value, they need a clear purpose, regular rhythm, understood way of operating, excellent participation and robust follow up.
As ever what works will vary, but I have yet to come across a well led organisation which doesn’t have some variation of: weekly catch ups, monthly operational reviews, quarterly opportunities to think longer term (strategy, competitors, relationships, lessons learnt etc), an annual calendar of engagement with the signature processes, 1:1’s (operational and development), team briefings and social events.
I suspect most, if not all organisations, would claim they have a meeting cadence. What I find deeply shocking is the number of organisations where the leaders are poor at thinking about process and have in part abdicated their responsibility for the cadence and take little responsibility for shaping or contributing to it.
Communication Calendar
A communication calendar provides a structure which prompts leaders to shape and deliver their message, it sets the tone and expectation with colleagues (and external groups) and is a critical part of the leader’s toolkit. In my view, it needs to be proactively planned rather than being a response to events.
Of course the quality of the communication will be critical. See Owning The Narrative but a good communication calendar will be the practical backbone which prompts the sharing of that narrative.
Leadership Behaviour
Processes, cadence and calendars are necessary but not sufficient for a great Leadership Rhythm. It also requires the leaders to act out their role by:
Constantly setting out the context and reinforcing the purpose of the process, meeting or communication event.
Taking ownership for the quality of the conversation, the outputs and the follow up.
Leading, facilitating and participating in a way which acts as a role model for others.
Providing constant feedback to enhance the overall and individual performance.
Conditions For Success
Essential to success is framing what great looks like (outputs and inputs) and having the right people, environment, resources and timing led by capable leaders.
Building Communication Capability
Enhance the capability by:
Investing in communication specialists.
Developing the communication skills of your leaders.
Investing in multiple mediums and current technology.
Common Weaknesses:
Having participated in hundreds of workshops, my experience is that too many leaders are poor to mediocre in the skills required to make the most of The Leadership Rhythm. Including:
Valuing and shaping process (how we get things done).
Valuing time.
Staying focused.
Closing things down (and not constantly reopening).
Contributing at the right level.
Managing energy (themselves and others).
Listening and engaging others.
Follow through, both clarifying expectations and delivering on commitments.
10 Top Tips
Setting The Leadership Rhythm
Be explicit about the Leadership Rhythm – what it is, why it is important and what great looks like.
Be edgy and challenge poor rhythm – it shows it matters.
Role model what great looks like – it means you need to be on top of your game.
Build in resource to support the rhythm – both talent and capacity.
Educate and develop – few people are naturally gifted at process.
Observe and give feedback – it keeps your leaders honest.
Review The Leadership Rhythm – it is important enough.
Think about conversations – they don’t just happen.
Obsess about pace – time is a finite and an incredibly valuable resource.
Use the architect, conductor and ratchet metaphor – it reinforces the desired behaviour.
Comments