"Executive leaders must establish priorities and focus effort. Activity alone isn't progress and moving forward on what matters less is time and effort lost. Real progress is priority-based progress."
This was a tougher chapter for me to digest as compared to Set Executive Direction and Motivate Employee Commitment. Initially the only topics I could relate to were Prioritization and Influence without Authority.
While I do hold myself accountable for projects I’ve committed to. And felt that sense of accomplishment upon delivery and stakeholder affirmation. It wasn’t always invigorating…? In retrospective, it was the lack of connection to a higher shared purpose. I knew what I was doing created value for my immediate stakeholders. And it stops there.
This realization also came to light in my recent interviews when I was grilled on “So What?”. If I could time travel or have access to the data, I’ll definitely dedicate time to answer that question. Something for me to incorporate at my next role.
a. Be a persistent prioritizer, separating the seemingly urgent from the truly important
b. Ensure everyone across your organization align and focus on their top 3 priorities
c. Ensure clarity and monitor progress
d. Learn to say NO
e. Shift from doing things right, to doing the right things
1. Results over control
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- How’s it going?
- What road blocks are you running into?
- How can I help?
- Let’s discuss how to deal with the challenges that you face.
2. Three types of performance accountability meetings
| Type of Meeting | Agenda | Frequency |
| Tactical Meetings | Operational Issues | Weekly or Fornightly |
| Strategic Meetings | Progress on strategic priorities | 4 – 6 weeks |
| Long-term Offsite Planning Meetings | Assessment of industry trends, competitive landscape, technology changes, government policies, etc | 4 – 6 months |
3. Connect accountability to shared purpose and compelling vision
John shares his 4 steps approach when coaching leaders:
a. Clarify your desired outcomes. Be specific. Identify the decision makers and the key people they listen to.
b. Learn what influences the influencers i.e. their motives as shared in Motivate Commitment.
c. Choose and customize the best method per stakeholder, based on their motives and style.
d. Invest in relationships. Damaged relationships damage careers.
"Your work as an executive is to 1) Be impelled by curiosity, and 2) Encourage and reward innovation at all levels in your organization."
When we need to get creative at work, it’s usually due to constraints. Hence it was refreshing to learn a different perspective on why, and how to cultivate creativity for better innovation. After creativity is unleashed, remember to bring your people along the journey to the destination and beyond, through effective change management.
Individuals
a. Add creative elements to roles
b. Reward success and failure
c. Make room for rebellion
Teams
a. Provide training
b. Encourage innovation by building on each other’s ideas
c. Challenge them
Organization
a. Company-wide norms and practices
b. Dedicated creative time
c. Contests
- Explain why
- Communicate a vision
- Formulate a plan
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- Secure buy in from key stakeholders
- Identify roadblocks
- Prioritize action steps
- Mitigate resistance through inclusion
- Empower a change team
- Implement and learn. Track progress and adjust.
- Celebrate the wins to keep the momentum going
- Record what you learn
"Change steers straight into your people's natural fear and resistance. So your case for the consequences of not changing, and for the opportunities for changing, must be overwhelming strong."
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/executive-leadership
