Focusing on Results

One of the crucial building blocks in leadership is RESULTS. This building block is very important, because it represents one of the things elite leaders must value very dearly: high performance. We will only build great teams if we pursue our journey of greatness by valuing high performance. 

It’s my experience that people confuse working hard and being loyal with high performance. “I work more hours than Miss So So and she got the promotion.” “I’ve been here longer than he has been, and he still got the promotion before me.” Have you ever heard any of this in the break room? Run away from that conversation, even if it means you are talking to yourself!

Things start with effort, but it’s really about effectiveness. If someone else received the promotion, then they are getting better results. The real question should be “What do I need to do to create stellar results, to get that promotion and raise?” We become a casualty of our own complacency when we expect less. 
Look at Blackberry. Everyone had a Blackberry at one time, they dominated the market. It was a good product. It was so good, they stopped developing and improving with technology advances. They ignored the new products and justified their good product as a reason not to change. The iPhone and Androids have come in and taken almost the entire market share. Blackberry was good, but the market moved to great.

Effectiveness is much harder to assess than effort. We cannot measure people by how many hours they work or the number of weekends they come in. We need to reward people by how much, how quickly, and how well they do things. Beating the deadline is especially valuable to the team. But, it does little good to do a lot of work quickly if it’s full of errors. Conversely, the work product doesn’t stack up to the high performance measure if it is perfect but took way too long to deliver.

High performance involves focusing on results, not processes. Results come from finding ways to improve processes for effectiveness. How can we be faster and maintain high quality? It involves thinking strategically and being effective with developing others around you.

It’s interesting to me that the most effective team members also seem to work less on average and are more empowered to manage their schedule. It’s about working smarter, not harder. As leaders, we must recognize and reward results and high performers. We need outstanding team members to help lead us on our journey. Will you be a high performance team member who is known for the outstanding results you create? For breaking the box on processes? For developing others? For leading during stressful times? Will you make a difference for your clients, your team members, your family, and your community?

Anyone can be a high performance team member if they really want it. I see the evidence every day. Stephen Covey reminds us to begin with the end in mind. The end we must have in mind are RESULTS that will become a bedrock of a successful team.

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