Powerful Ideas to Improve Your Leadership

From many years of coaching executives, here are five pointers for becoming a better leader:

1. Hire people who are better than you in their discipline; not subordinates.
2. Focus yourself on key priorities — move a few things forward a mile rather than a lot of things forward an inch.
3. Focus your people on results; not activities.
4. Demand commitment; not compliance.
5. Encourage and reward open, honest, and insightful thinking; not going with the flow.
6. Expect people to fail now and then. Mistakes are part of learning.

© Copyright 2017  Bob Legge

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Bob Legge provides organizations with the ability to exceed their most ambitious goals.  I work with leaders of Fortune 500 companies, small and mid-size companies, nonprofits, education, and government. Together, we drive strategy, lead successful change, develop high performance cultures, improve individual and organizational performance, and produce faster, sustainable growth and value.  Contact him at  bob.legge@leggecompany.com

The Big Disconnect

Here it is:  Most people have above average reviews, but the company is under-performing.

Sure, it could be the case that everyone is working hard, and the company results aren’t there.  But then, what are you basing performance on?  Effort?  If so, consider evaluating for results (and behaviors that support the your company values.)  You need to align everyone’s objectives with the company results you want for the year.  That way, you won’t have good reviews and miss your company targets.

This is not a particularly easy thing to accomplish because it depends on rigor, accountability, planning, and above all, responsibility.  But it’s the way to get everyone on the same page and pulling in the same direction to achieve the results you need.

Do you have the alignment you need through this year?

© Copyright 2017  Bob Legge

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Bob Legge provides organizations with the ability to exceed their most ambitious goals.  I work with leaders of Fortune 500 companies, small and mid-size companies, nonprofits, education, and government. Together, we drive strategy, lead successful change, develop high performance cultures, improve individual and organizational performance, and produce faster, sustainable growth and value.  Contact him at  bob.legge@leggecompany.com

 

Do This Before the End of February

It’s February and you’ve got most of the year still ahead.   See if you can answer these questions clearly and briefly:

1. What is your strategy?
2. What is the over-arching vision you have for your company?
3. What is the major theme, or themes, you want your people to run hard at this year?
4. What are your top three priorities for the company?

Your people want to know how to move forward, what to base their day-to-day decisions on, and how to know they are on-track.  If you’ve put together a simple roadmap or strategy, it will be found posted in their work areas, cubicles and offices.  More complex strategies are in PowerPoint presentations or binders and they rarely get looked at.  So if you can answer the four questions above, make sure your people know the answers too.  If you can’t answer them, you need to get to work.  As I said, most of the year is still ahead.

© Copyright 2017  Bob Legge

~~~~~

Bob Legge provides organizations with the ability to exceed their most ambitious goals.  I work with leaders of Fortune 500 companies, small and mid-size companies, nonprofits, education, and government. Together, we drive strategy, lead successful change, develop high performance cultures, improve individual and organizational performance, and produce faster, sustainable growth and value.  Contact him at  bob.legge@leggecompany.com