For many of you reading, it can be a very common pattern.
In reflecting on your program to encourage Growth Leadership in your firm, it sure seems like you’ve made the investment. You’ve provided training, workshops and outside speaker events. Yet when you look at the results and that fresh new work you’ve been expecting, the results are simply anemic.
The simple truth is this: holding the workshop does not equal execution.
Yet, when you go and test their understanding, your Growth Leaders really do know on paper what’s required. They understand the rich benefits to the firm of having fresh new projects to market that will provide more value to more people.
Yet, things are just not moving.
The Common Trap
One of the frequent barriers to moving from knowing to doing is recognizing that in many firms, simply talking about it becomes the proxy for having completed it. I was recently working with an executive team, and one of the early diagnostics was a look at the last 180 days of decisions that were made. In many cases, they had the notes from the decision-making meetings and what the intention was, yet when we ran down the outcomes, we found that less than 10% of them had actually been taken all the way to action.
Why such low follow through?
We all have a very human tendency that goes like this – there is a mental conflict which drives us to do some research and perhaps have a meeting that intellectually resolves the conflict. Good – we’ve made a decision, that’s settled.
And once the dissonance is gone, we assume that implementation is assured.
We all value quality discussion. It is something that is instantly evaluated (“that was a great meeting…”), and we pick leaders who can engage in solid dialogue and logical outcomes. Discussion is observable and score-able. Complex approaches and insight are greatly valued in the discussion because it appears we are really getting at something.
And the truth is we are. Collaboration takes us through those known unknowns very quickly, and good dialogue is valuable to get us there.
But great teaching, workshops, and discussion don’t put money on the balance sheet – implementation does.
Finding the “Do”
There are very consistent patterns in the firms that I work with that create action. These learnings are quite transportable, and if you put them to work, you will be amazed at how the “say-do” ratio of your firm tips in the right direction.
There are three things that firms who close the learning-doing gap do repeatedly in their discussions:
- They dwell on the current state so that they deeply understand precisely where they are today. What’s working? What’s not working? How do we know? Who is impacted? How much does this cost us? It’s only in finding both the pain and the process and impact owners that we can fashion the start of a solution.
- They have a realistic vision of the future. Getting really clear on where we are headed, as well as exactly what it will feel like when we get there, is key. Everyone wants to do the “how,” but those who excel are good at completing a picture of a compelling realistic future scenario.
- They have a specific set of actions and implications. This is where developing a path helps. In particular, they come to an agreement about a real, actionable first step, and a precise time to review the results of that step.
- They take action with the expectation of learning. Firms that make progress know any action will create new knowledge – in fact, they bank on it. This is what pushes them to be action-oriented because they value the new learning that comes from the courage to take the path and see what happens. The truly unforgivable sin in these firms is to stop and slow the learning process.
- They circle back. Firms that get stuff done take small steps of action, assess and take the next step. This closed-loop of plan, action, results (then repeat) is as natural as breathing. One of the truly sad experiences I see in many firms is the training sponsor making end of the year phone calls trying to assess the impact of their investment. These questions are too late to provide measurable results, and in many cases, simply expose that the siren song of the day-to-day has swamped out any potential gains from the concentrated work.
It is much better to put the learning loop in place during the workshop, and in fact, involve the sponsoring leadership team in helping to form it. Setting solid metrics reinforces the learning path: time-bound, action-oriented and vision focused.
As you take a moment to reflect on your own team’s performance, think through how the last few meetings have closed. Was there a clear understanding of how things really are? Did everyone agree on a direction and few key next actions? Is there clear time and the expectation for a circle back discussion?
Tip: Taking these five points and putting them on your digital equivalent of a post-it note is a great next action.
My core work is centered on helping Growth Leaders discover, organize and deploy activity that leads to breakout growth – all the way to the balance sheet. The key to this work is helping leaders see patterns and moments like this by applying proven frameworks that will unlock strengths that are present and under leveraged.
If you’re a difference-maker who has identified gaps in your growth program, the steps above are a great place to start. But if you’d like to jumpstart your results on this journey, please reach out at 847-651-1014 or set up a short call using this link.
Together, we’ll discuss your current growth challenges and develop a strategy that will help your team realize measurable results in 2020 and beyond.
Related posts you can benefit from…
