Whether we care to admit it or not, we all get bogged down and overwhelmed in details. Many times we get ourselves bogged down through our desire or belief that to be successful we must be on top of every detail, especially in our most important responsibilities. We become the victim of Analysis Paralysis.
We spend our time not as leaders, managers, and coaches, but as a player trying to play every position. We operate at every level of the business, sending a message to our people that we do not believe that they can perform their responsibilities.
To understand the depth and breadth of your ability to get bogged down, analyzing a few cultural descriptors may help you understand the way you get things done and how work is performed. It can help you to understand your process, your management rhythm, and how you perceive, think, feel, make decisions, interact with your people, and how you execute your responsibilities.
These descriptors are a useful starting point for self-reflection, but are not absolute or definitive.
Cultural Descriptors
• Compliance vs Creativity,
• Individual contributor vs Teamwork
• Technology driven
• Performance driven
• Continuous improvement
• Rapid growth vs Slow Growth
• People orientated vs Productivity oriented
• Participative management vs Command & Control
• Self-directed work teams vs traditional management
• Line of sight between job and Company Mission
After careful and honest self-reflection, the next step to explore is the current environment you are in that is affecting how you manage, and the degree to which you micromanage, which leads to bogging down in the details.
Some thoughts on the environment you are in, or more importantly, on the environment you may be creating:
• Is the pressure to perform low, equitable, fair, and reasonable, or unreasonable?
• Is out-of-the-box thinking encouraged or discouraged?
• Are compliance, ethics, or legal issues ever denigrated or marginalized?
• Is bad conduct rewarded, tolerated, or silently sanctioned?
• Does short-term thinking dominate?
• Are employees proud to be part of the organization?
It is important to give some concentrated thought to what you consider the most important issues that you will face in the next couple of years and the speed at which change will come. Your speed and the ability to set the pace will be a direct result of your ability to not be Bogged Down.
Your ability to build work-class teams that you trust, empower, and give the authority that equals their responsibility will free you from the anchor of the Bog and allow you and them to grow and flourish. Your team becomes the engine to drive results; your people become the solution, not the problem.
Team Building / Team Effectiveness
Team building/team effectiveness – defined as follows:
• Establishes a climate where team collaboration and effectiveness flourishes.
• Establishes constructive and solid interpersonal relationships.
• Treats others with courtesy, tact, and respect.
• Works effectively with others, regardless of organizational level, background, gender, race, or ethnicity.
• Works to resolve disagreements, attempting to persuade others and reach agreements.
• Supports group decisions when group decisions are appropriate.
• Leads and facilitates team interaction and maintains focus on group goals.
Creating a strong culture is critical to you and your company’s long-term success and growth. It should be your desire and that of your organization to create the Best, Brightest, Most-Informed and Best-Educated management team in the industry. In the service business, people are the most important asset. The time we spend with our people is an investment in the future, not an expense or burden on our time. You cannot successfully grow the business without an investment in people.
Finally, we all have that question in our mind that sounds like this:
Knowing what I know today, what is it that something I wished I would have realized earlier in my life?
For me it was the realization of the importance of work-life balance. To understand the difference between “nice to do” things and “need to do” things. My strength of being all in, focused, committed, and passionate at times became my weakness because I was all in on everything, even the things that in hindsight were nice to do and not need to do.
I look back at some of the events and family gatherings I missed because I was attending nice-to-do events. This was a sobering lesson on balance, and the understanding that nice-to-do things are about choice.
Get Out of the Weeds and into the Light. Understand the difference between “nice to do” and “need to do,” because The Speed of the Leader Determines the Pace of the Pack. Set yourself free and Set the Pace.
Take Your Leadership Skills to the Next Level with Tighten the Lug Nuts: The Principles of Balanced Leadership.
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LOOKING TO BOOK A SPEAKER FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT?
Let’s work together. I am a practitioner as well as an educator and motivator, and an experienced senior leader and CEO with over 45 years of boots-on-the-ground experience. I led one of the largest rebranding initiatives in franchising history – The UPS Store, revolutionizing the $9 billion retail shipping and business services market.
I believe that none of us can achieve success without some help along the way. For each of us, there is a person, a mentor, who we are grateful towards and who can help us get to where we aspire to be. Sharing stories and experiences as a speaker is a way of recognizing the value of these experiences and giving back to the next generation of leaders. It also is a way of demonstrating in words and deed the value I am placing in mentorship. As for me, I have been fortunate to have worked with and mentored by some incredibly special people, and none more incredible than Coach John Wooden.
“Rocky was the Keynote Speaker at our FragilePak Connect Conference. His presentation on Balanced Leadership was educational, informative, and delivered with great energy and enthusiasm. We especially appreciated Rocky attending the conference to learn more about who we are, what we stand for and what we are trying to accomplish as a team. He received a 4.9 score on our survey and the following comments best represent the overall comments.”
“He was the best speaker and had useful life tips”
“Fantastic”
“Amazing”
Rick Schad / VP FP Certified Providers Network
FragilePak
I have broad experiences to share that can help others as they grow and take on new challenges. During my time as president of UPS Supply Chain Solutions, I integrated over 20 acquisitions that became UPS Supply Chain Solutions. I steered UPS’s entry into the health care industry and created the mantra, “It’s a patient, not a package. ®” With the ability to see a clear vision of the changing business landscape, the passion to develop strategies, tactics, and metrics to drive desired results, and the passion to develop the Best, The Brightest, Most Informed, and Best People in the industries they serve.
Please give me a call today at 610-322-0720 or email at
[email protected]
THE LEADERSHIP LIBRARY PODCAST SEASON 8
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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: THE MICROMANAGEMENT FIRE
For more information visit our website https://www.3sixtymanagementservices.com/. My book,
Tighten The Lug Nuts, will also serve as a workbook for these important topics and discussions.
Read my latest Forbes article:
TIGHTEN THE LUG NUTS: THE PRINCIPLES OF
BALANCED LEADERSHIP
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Visit our website, https://3sixtymanagementservices.com, as well as my book, Tighten The Lug Nuts, for additional information.
Contact me at: [email protected].
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