Not every bet is a winner – that’s why true bets are never a “Sure Thing.” This is a principle leaders understand and embrace. We are called to place countless bets over the course of our career. We make bets on strategy, products, systems, the use of our time, people and more. We place no bigger bet than the ones we place on other leaders. Today’s Challenge question comes in two parts: Have you ever bet on a leader and lost? And, what do you do then?
Tag: accountability
I asked you to send me your leadership challenges last week. Thanks for the response! Although I’ve received enough for many, many weeks of blog posts, I encourage you to continue to send them my way. On Friday each week, I’ll respond to one of your questions. Today’s Challenge: How do you hold people accountable?
How do you keep score as a leader? What key metrics ultimately determine whether you are winning or not? Several years ago, my coach asked me questions like these and others. I had to confess, I wasn’t sure I had good answers for him. His conclusion was: What key numbers does your leader hold you accountable to achieve?
If leaders cannot transfer critical messages throughout our entire organization, we will never realize our full potential. This is one of the messages we are sharing in our 25-city, Chess Not Checkers tour. The question most have is not why transferring critical information is important, but how?
Author, consultant and former professor at Stanford, Jim Collins believes greatness is born of discipline. His prescription: disciplined people – disciplined thought – disciplined action. I agree with Jim. Recently, I received a question from a leader who asked, “How do you create organizational discipline?”
I remember a leadership challenge I faced years ago. We had a goal to be ranked #1 by our customers in 25 markets around the country. We had been pursuing this for several years and we knew we were close. When we received our scorecard, we had met our goal in 23 of the 25 markets. The two markets in which we were lagging were my accountability.
Each week, I respond to a question submitted by a reader. Today’s issue is one I’ve faced more than once over the years. The question is: In an increasingly team-based world, what is the role of the individual contributor?
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Bite an Elephant Today
My friend, Elizabeth Dixon, started a website last year entitled, Bite an Elephant. If you don’t know the origin of the phrase, I’m guessing it comes from the old riddle: “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer: “One bite at a time.” Elizabeth is dedicated to helping people be successful, one step at a time. I’ve been exploring my own means of eating the elephant recently – Micro Moves.
Last week, I wrote about some of the reasons teams get stuck. Today, the balance of my top ten list. I hope one or more of the items will stimulate a thought or shine light on a blind spot that’s been holding your team back.
Each week, I answer a question submitted by a leader. This week’s question is about a “strong leader” who’s created dysfunction within their team. The challenge appears even greater because the leader in question is serving as a volunteer. I do have a few thoughts – even though you may not like them…