“Yes, there was that moment, and I was really unsure of which side was up. You helped us trust the framework and it pulled us through …”
The above comment was made recently by a client during an after project review. We had just completed a project that included some significant challenges both with external partners, as well as internal resistance. This project broke new ground, more like an expedition than a tour, and stretched the leadership muscle of the team and its participants.
The results were really good and universally recognized internally as a nice step forward. My usual measure of these events is the leadership muscle we leave behind, and it was clear from the above that new ground had been gained.
It’s the unspoken truth of moving from where you are to a new level of performance. We speak of it in hushed tones…the inflection point. You have left the comfort of the familiar and moved into a hybrid state of trying to hold onto the old, while at the same time embracing the new.
You then meet a bewildering problem: you simply can’t do both. You have to choose a path: you can either retreat to the familiar or dig in and solve the problem using the new paradigm.
It’s in these moments that frameworks matter, so you must choose them well. When you hit that moment of disorientation (and you will, it’s inevitable), a great framework will get both you and the team collectively oriented and moving.
Here’s an analogy: in the upper midwest, we like to waterski on our pristine lakes and rivers and some of us like to ski fast on one ski. When we cross the wake, we can hit speeds of up to 90 kph. When we fall (and we do) it can become very disorienting. One simple rule that helps when you are underwater and unsure which way is up – blow some bubbles and follow them.
A good framework is like that – it has substance (bubbles always move toward the surface), it makes a simple specific ask of us (blow some bubbles) and it puts us on a confident path so our effort gets us somewhere positive (up to the surface).
If you’re thinking that the best time to have a framework in place is before you tip into the lake, you’d be correct – and the same is true in business. When undertaking a significant shift either in an existing business or exploring something new, it’s very important to be using a process that has some background and reslience built into it. A one day intro with the right framework can save millions.
Is it possible to do triage after the event? Sure, but it’s much more painful and consumes more money, time and resources.
I’ve built two very teachable frameworks that are deeply rooted in truth and experience that allows me to help clients get back on the path. They provide directional guidance and the opportunity to restore momentum when you’ve taken a shot as a leader or a team.
- The first one is Complete Growth Leader. It is a framework used at both the individual and team levels that uses four Growth Leader styles to provide alignment and insights around how to structure the highest performing combination. This framework has served well as a powerful tool for coaching up and coming Growth Leaders as well. If you’d like to know more about this framework, check out the posts here, here and here.
- The second one is STRIDE. STRIDE is a powerful framework for leaders who need to guide their teams through tough challenges like the one described above. It lays out a clear path for the team and its participants and anticipates those very disorienting moments and provides tools to deal with them. If you’d like to know more about STRIDE, please check out the posts here, here and here.
If you are a leader in a firm taking it into uncomfortable new places that have the promise of much better growth, my coaching point is to install a simple, clear framework while everyone is in the safe harbor. Because once the first wave rushes over the bow, it’s much harder to keep the group’s trust.
If you’d like to talk about how to give yourself and the team the gift of a strong application based framework, please give me a call at 847-651-1014. If you’d rather set up a 20-minute chat, please use this link to have a no strings chat.
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