Levers of Leaders

Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash

As a team leader, I struggle most with letting go of the detailed work. I don’t think I’m alone. After all, most have reached management by going functionally deep and knowing feels good — who doesn’t want to have the answers? Being needed is catnip to the ego. For these reasons, letting go of control can be hard. Understanding every nook and cranny may have been the freeway that brought you swiftly to your current station, but it’s a cul-de-sac for leaders.

Here’s the mindset shift — replace the pleasure of ‘knowing the details’ with the success of the team, both in personal growth and business outcome. With this new lens, comes new work — changing how you see your role means doing different things. If you hold on to the detailed work, fist clenched, your hand isn’t open to pick up anything new. You need to move on to the new work of leadership.

The levers of leaders

If you’re wondering what the ‘new work of leadership’ is, here are some ideas.

Know Your Business: You can’t make good decisions if you don’t know what makes your business work. You have to understand the levers that matter and gain appropriate fidelity in the areas that move the needle. I’m not just talking about the high-level numbers, you need to know how the system works and where pointing your energy will have the greatest impact.

Right People, Right Things: The key to stock market success over the long haul is asset allocation. The same laws apply to organizations. How many people will you put on a given product? What areas of the business will be purposefully starved? How are you making these decisions? Concentrating smart people on a limited number of important things is one of the most critical levers a leader has.

Build a Process that Works: Process gets a bad rap, but not by professionals. It’s your factory and how you get things done needs to be documented, effective, and adhered to. How much you need, and where, I’ll save for a different day, but note that Apple is famous for its design, but they succeed through operations. When Steve Jobs gave up the CEO position, who took his place? Not Jony Ive.

More Questions, Fewer Answers: Having role power in an organization means your opinion carries weight. This is a problem as it can convince you that your ideas are right by the lack of resistance they receive. How can you sidestep this ditch? Simple, don’t share as many answers — instead, bring questions.

If you see something potentially off track, get insight from the people closest to the situation. Not driving something doesn’t mean ignoring it. Auguring in to understand is a part of the job and often more effective than spraying your biased views around a room. That said, sometimes you do need to provide the answer to move the team forward. Find the balance.

Model Desired Behavior: Show up 5 minutes late to every meeting? Don’t respond to emails? These are poison to an effective culture. The opposite applies as well. Begin by understanding what you want your team to become and act yourself into that reality. Want a team that is organized? Be organized. Want a team that knows the customer? Visit customers. Want a team of writers? Write. Leading isn’t about telling others. We have to lead ourselves as well.

Have Your Team’s Back: Not every decision will work out. Mistakes will be made and projects will go off track. When that happens, you must back your team. This does not mean you deny there was an issue or blame another organization. Be candid about what went wrong and address the core issue, but during that process be squarely in the boat with your team. You take responsibility. No finger-pointing allowed.

“Somewhere between the janitor and the CEO, reasons stop mattering.” — Steve Jobs

Prioritize Training & Development: What good is hiring someone if they can’t perform the job? And no, this does not mean hiring turn-key people with all the required skills. A huge part of leadership is training and development. Assembly is always required. You must understand what skills matter, evaluate where people are, and help them shore up any weaknesses. Of course, this applies to ourselves as well.

We all have gaps and weaknesses and we can’t assume our boss will take the time to care — so self-motivation matters. Everyone should take responsibility for their own development, but a great leader doesn’t leave it up to the team member to figure out. Bill Walsh and Andy Grove both personally ran their new hire training programs. Are you a better leader than them? I know I’m not.

Ok, that’s the list I’m working on these days. What am I missing? If you lead a team, where do you spend your time?

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