How will you enable greatness today? That’s the question posed in this LinkedIn article by Tomasz Tunguz – a venture capitalist at Redpoint. It’s a short read, but it makes an excellent point all of us need to understand, internalize and apply to our management approach.
Consider the following excerpt:
Creativity blossoms in environments of mercilessly small teams, honest/direct/brutal feedback, and “no compromises” attitudes. Practically speaking this means deploying small teams on projects and constraining meeting sizes; empowering/trusting these small teams to make bold strides; hiring well; providing clear direction and honest feedback – ultimately enabling faster iteration cycles for better results.
In other words, when you’re leading a team, it’s not hocus-pocus magical thinking or happy coincidence that breeds success. It’s a very specific combination of responsible and directed management practices. Look closely at the words Tunguz uses. Brutal feedback. No compromises. Bold strides. Clear direction. Hiring well. These are leadership imperatives.
Think these imperatives don’t apply to you, your team or your organization? Still think that traditional employee engagement methods will keep employees motivated and productive? Think again. The lessons are absolutely relevant for any size team, in any industry, tackling any kind of problem – whether it’s software development or patient care. The old thinking about how to engage employees to get results (by making them happy and fulfilling all their needs) is wrong.
Period.
If your employees are failing to deliver results, the onus is on you. As a leader, you have to run a tighter ship! Here’s how:
Set clear expectations. Every team member should know what you expect – not only their job descriptions but also (especially!) the results you want them to deliver. They should know exactly what their contribution should be to a set of measurable outcomes.
Regularly provide brutally honest feedback. When it comes to success, failure or somewhere in between, it is your responsibility to call a spade a spade. You get to celebrate successes, but you cannot sugarcoat failures or poor performance. Sorry, but there is no award for doing their best.
Encourage personal accountability. Every team member plays an important role in achieving success. They must play their parts and then some. And this is true despite the circumstances. No excuses.
Delegate. You must allow employees to own their work and that work must get richer and more involved as time passes. Delegation offers one of the best developmental opportunities. The sense of responsibility and empowerment that result, fuel an inner drive and passion that cannot be imposed through a system of bribes and rewards.
Work with the willing. This is where I give you permission to play favorites. In fact, if you aren’t playing favorites, you’re probably spending too much time coddling your low performers. Find your top employees and bring them to the top with you.
Cy Wakeman, Contributor
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