I was recently working with a founder and CEO of a business who was very clear on what his purpose and picture of success was. The whole of the SMT were all on board (and knew what it was) and there was an assumption that people across the organisation knew exactly where they fitted into the plan and their accountability to it.
Assumptions can be dangerous and not wanting to upset the ‘Boss’ people avoided the conversation as there was this hidden smoke in the air that people knew what was wanted and what they had to do.
This created a little frustration with a high energy leader with the passion to deliver that things were not quite happening to plan.
In my experience so many people would take the situation like a case study on a business course and list the things that should be done. So communication, training, performance reviews…the list can go on. But here the Founder had no interest in training as he had invested in a small amount the previous year but had not seen any tangible benefit from it.
However he had seen benefit from the building of teams, management and leadership development, professional competence through facilitation.
So what?
Performance results was at the heart of this conversation and facilitation was key to its success.
5 practical steps to take to implement your passion
- Define your passion / purpose with your key team
e.g. “I want to be the ‘go to’ performance supplier for entrepreneurs, start ups, media and tech industry by 2020” What will you be seeing, hearing and feeling as a result?
2. Establish what the principles of the passion are
e.g. We are hungry to support colleagues and customers, we always see the value of what there is and not what there isnt, we relentlessly work towards and monitor our targets
3. Work out what the strategy to deliver
e.g. What is happening and when
4. Establish individual and team strengths
e.g. Work out what your the things you like to do most by writing a list and or completing a questionnaire like Strengthscope. From this work out team strengths, what strengths are required for this and whether you have them all and if not how will the team cover the gap
5. Identify the roles and measured contribution of teams and individuals
e.g. What am I doing to support the passion / purpose? How can I follow the principles? What is my part in the team?..
6. What are the measures of success and who is accountable?
e.g. What are the incremental gains in the process to achieving the passion? Who is accountable to monitor and communicate the message? Support and build from the lessons along the way
7. Act like a marketing campaign and thread the message through everything you do
e.g. Talk about the passion and the steps you are on in meeting that explicitly or implicitly in all your conversations, internal communications, team meetings, posters on the wall, ‘all hands communications’
I love rolling my sleeves up and getting under the skin of a significant challenge working with high energy, new and established teams (mostly entrepreneurs, tech and small businesses) to be productive, high performing and prosperous (healthy and happy).
Lizzie Rhodes James is a Performance Coach and Facilitator who specialises in helping teams and individuals exceed their potential at work and in life. Having successfully transitioned from a successful Army career into the Corporate world, Lizzie brings an exceptional and distinctive blend of discipline, focus and agility into her practice. Lizzie is also passionate about health and wellness, and adds a depth of thinking to align body and mind, enhancing overall performance and encouraging clients to transcend their limits.
