LEADERSHIP: REBUILDING PROFITS
Today, businesses and jobs are under threat. Life's tough. People are frightened and distracted. Sound familiar? But what about tomorrow's opportunity? Getting revenue, productivity and profits rising again. What would that take? From my experience, the key is leading your people more effectively. Nothing has greater leverage! It's up to you to stop the depressing and downbeat news from outside eroding workplace commitment and enthusiasm. And, how would your people say you're doing on this? Not well, OK or great?
So, what to do? All good things start with a plan: whether it's a football game, a social event or a change in how you lead. In this case you'll need a Leadership Action Plan. And, to show what I mean, there's a sample at the end of this Potshot - developed using our V|E|C|T|O|R program. And, when you do one, you'll note it's quite specific to your team and their challenges. And, integrative across both hard realities of market and technical issues; and, so-called soft ones of people and culture. In sum: it's about balanced leadership ... so people trust both your competence and your style.
Your plan emerges from a three-step process:
- Identifying what your people feel is holding them back: whether concerns about goals and direction, capacity to deliver, output requirements, teamwork or strategic renewal;
- Finding what YOU have to do to free them up and inspire them - by addressing their concerns;
- Committing to and taking all necessary actions to align and energise them.
At the end, you'll have a one-page leadership plan that's specific to your situation - not generalised stuff or psycho-babble. It can be printed; and, updated (as you implement or situations change); and, also emailed to colleagues. It's supported by resource material that helps you both to define and deliver your commitments. In sum: V|E|C|T|O|R offers a tool to focus your actions - for serious leadership traction. It's not just about tepid intentions from another training session, leadership profile or evaluation.
The cost? An hour of your time to do it well. And normally, $US75 for a once-off plan. Or, $US480 for a full annual sub. - allowing as many plans or updates as you like; and access to all V|E|C|T|O|R tools and resource material - 24x7. That's not much compared to an increase in profits. What would the multiple be if you increased profits 10%?
Finally, before showing the sample, here are three comments from users of the V|E|C|T|O|R online Leadership Action Planning (LAP) tool:
- "Challenging but pragmatic and valuable"
- "Really breaks things down for you"
- "Forced me to think through what my people actually needed from me"
| Fred Feather, Executive Chairman - Black Swan Enterprises | ||
| Plan title: New strategy | Created: End Jan. 2009 | Horizon: 4 months |
| ACTION AREAS AND SPECIFICS | DEADLINE | ||
| Define destination, goals and outcomes | |||
| 1. | Meet individually with key colleagues to identify changed market and internal issues impacting need for new strategy and its implementation | 27 February | |
| 2. | Talk to colleagues in other offices (particularly AD and JL) to find what worked and not with their changes; also new product/service and re-packaging ideas | 27 February | |
| 3. | Hold strategy session to discuss above issues with full team, identify new market drivers, competitive issues, key goals and priority actions (see below) | 13 March | |
| Understand and engage people | |||
| 4. | Meet with all key stakeholders, particularly those most concerned re product and organisational changes (eg FC, AJ and QM): explore concerns and options | 27 February | |
| 5. | Maintain contact and dialogue through to implementation and beyond | Ongoing | |
| Design structures, roles and delegations | |||
| 6. | Identify possible changes needed to organisational structure – including matrix requirements for some functional and geographic reporting; test ideas with relevant heads | 27 February | |
| 7. | Meet with area heads - and key production and back office leaders (particularly PT, LM and IC) re technical and delivery requirements | 06 March | |
| 8. | Discuss possible structure at strategy workshop (above) and seek ideas | 13 March | |
| Drive communication of vision and key messages | |||
| 9. | After workshop, launch dialogue with rest of sales, production and support staff; seek responses. Drive marketing and sales imperatives | 24 April | |
| Take tough decisions re activities and people | |||
| 10. | Once plan signed off, address any people and technical non-performance issues and make resourcing changes after consultation with leadership team | 29 May | |
To create your own Leadership Action Plan
- Go to www.vectorleadership.com
- Once there, click on the orange SUBSCRIBE button. This will take you to our payment process
- Follow the prompts to subscribe and, when asked, enter this coupon number 3969-8579 to get a 50% discount on whatever subscription you wish to choose. This offer is available for 30 days from publication of this Potshot.
* Each subscription also includes: access to our Leadership Problem Solver; and, receipt of our weekly leadership Potshot
If you encounter any problems: please contact our Technical Manager, Langdon Stevenson, at langdon@vectorleadership.com or on +612 8215 0570.
Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership®
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