Many of us tend to do what is easy rather than what is most beneficial. For instance, managers tend to lose sight of the main issues and spend hours on tasks that lead nowhere.
How do you get people to decide on the most important aspects of his job? The fastest, surest way is to tell them. In my opinion, this requires only three steps, and the rewards are enormous.
Step one:
- Ask the person what they need to accomplish over the coming six months. Make sure it is limited to five results.
Step two:
- Add, delete or modify, based on what you really want to see happen.
Step three:
- Reach agreement. Have them write it up using a key results in six months format
Is this really necessary?
Yes. This is a basic requirement of leading. Here are my top 6 reasons why.
- People are always more motivated when expectations are clear.
- Most people lose sight of what is expected and what is really important without weekly updates(we get bored easily)
- Most leaders assume that others are on the same page when, in fact, they are not even close.
- Two heads are always better than one when it comes to upgrading expectations.
- Once you have agreement, the stage is set to go over these expectations six months later to see what actually happened.
Get all your manages to establish this routine with all employees. This is a good way to tighten up controls and have everyone focused on what needs to be done.
The bottom line:
If you don’t tell people (discuss) what you want accomplished, don’t be surprised how they spend thier time.
Cheers,
Richard Reardon
800 560 0880
This is great advice, Richard. I use this technique in getting a theatrical production up on time, but with hourly, daily and weekly goals since we work in a very compressed schedule.