Every leader needs other people to fulfill a vision, achieve organizational objectives or deliver results.
Simply stated, no leader can do it all by themselves.The success of the leader is defined by the decisions and actions of others who are empowered to accomplish their respective responsibilities.
There are three critical keys that every business owner, executive or organizational director needs to follow to make that happen.
1. Clarity of goals.
I used to work at a sleepy,regional telephone company that prided itself on customer service but lacked a strong commitment to innovation. In the mid-1990s the company got a new CEO who changed all that.
Even though the Internet was in its infancy, his goal was to pull thatcompany into the 21st century by transforming the enterprisefrom "dial toneto data." It was clear that he wanted tomake the necessary investment in infrastructure, technologyand training to ensure the company was ahead of the needs of our customers. After several years of subsequent acquisitions and strategic pestitures, the company became a next-generation telecommunications organizationwith a national fiber-optic network, leading edgedata centers and a demonstrated commitment to ongoing employee training.
The CEO's transformational goal of moving from "dial tone to data" was a clear, understandable rallying point that was necessary for the organization's survival. Without that clearly stated goal, the organizational transformation implementedby the employees would have stalled.
2. Consistent communication.
This same CEO believed in "over communication" across the enterprise. I was responsible for internal and external communications for the company, and he constantly challenged me to find new ways to communicate our collective objectives and progress company wide.
My team implemented a robust communications schedule for the CEO and his direct reports to travel across the country setting the vision and reinforcingit amongst the various employees and union leaders face-to-face.We used weekly print newslettersso field technicians, who didn't have laptops at the time, were informed when they picked up their daily repair and installationassignments at the remote locations.
We also launchedanIntranet as well as weekly conference calls, voicemail recordingsand videoconferencing with the executive team, new communication tools had not been widely used across the corporation back then.This relentless commitment to communication ensured alignment withthe organizational goalsand helped inform every inpiduals' role toward delivering the expected results.
3.信任。
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The new CEO changed allthat with a single gesture.The head of the union was tough as nailsbut had cancer. Shortly after the CEO joined the company, the union leader had an incapacitating relapse. The CEO used the company jet to fly the union boss to the Mayo Clinic for emergency care.
The CEO explicitly told me and the communications team NOT topromote this action internally or externally. After a few weeks of care and treatment, the union leader returned to his job and widely shared the kind gesture of the CEO on his own. That melted away years of mistrust between the two opposing sides.
The CEO and union boss remained friends for years, even after the CEO left our company. He also attended the union leader's funeral when the cancer became too much.Without the trust of our company's organized labor the organizational transformation would never have occurred.
When it comes to delivering results,it's the people that matter.
Great leaders understand that.