A while ago I was on a call listening to one of my mentors through the John Maxwell Team. During the call he was discussing the tension between creating vision and implementation. After listening to his wisdom, I dove deeper into this idea of execution.
As leaders we must see before others. As John Maxwell states: “leaders see more before.” What does this mean? Leaders create the time and space to see the future. Let me illustrate.
Have you ever noticed the huge play sheets that professional football coaches hold in their hand during a game? They have invested hours watching film and thinking into a plan of every possibility to outmaneuver their opponent. This huge plan represents the coach’s vision of where he would like to see the game go. All week the team practices to learn the vision and fulfill the vision of winning.
Vision is one thing, but it only takes us so far. We must be able to execute to get results. What does this look like? Allow me to draw out a few key ideas on execution from references listed at the end of this post which are all great books to dive deeper into.
It’s the Leader’s Job
Bossidy and Charan point out in Execution
“The leader of the organization must be deeply engaged in [execution]. He cannot delegate its substance.”
There are many areas a leader can and should delegate to others because they can prevent functioning at the highest level and distract them from focusing on organizational vision and direction. If the leader delegates execution though, he or she risks becoming out of touch with what is really occurring with the team/organization. This would be like a football coach who writes up the game plan on Monday and then sits in his office all week entrusting his staff to implement the plan at practice.
Sunday afternoon comes and the coach is on the sideline calling plays, but has not experienced the adjustments and challenges that occurred throughout the week in practice. He may call a new play they only practiced a couple times and when the execution is poor he’s confused. As leaders we must be involved enough in the execution that we can make appropriate adjustments to the vision and plan along the way.
Execution is Part of Culture
Bossidy and Charan provide three key points to remember to understand execution.
- Execution is a discipline
- Execution is the major job of the business leader
- Execution must be a core element of an organization’s culture
As leaders we influence the culture. Maybe you have heard the phrase “inspect what you expect.” This is where the leader most influences culture. If the leader has cast a vision to increase sales that requires increased call volume and there is nothing in place to inspect this metric, it likely will not succeed.
Leaders must work alongside their teams to establish standards, expectations, and systems to hold their team accountable for implementing the strategy and moving ahead to accomplish the vision. McChesney, Covey and all discuss practical strategies on how to implement a scoreboard in their book 4 Disciplines of Execution. The creation of a simple, visible, and easily understood scoreboard will be a tool to create a culture of accountability.
Visionary vs. Integrator
Gino Wickman provides a simple structure for organizations to create systems to scale which he discusses in his book Traction. He discusses multiple ideas which complement the ideas in Covey’s book mentioned above. One key idea are specific roles of the top leaders: visionary and integrator.
If you are the team then this is a matter of switching hats, otherwise they are two different individuals. The visionary is the idea person while the integrator helps the visionary determine the plans to implement the vision. I have fulfilled the second role often alongside leaders. As a business leader determine which of these roles come more natural and then find someone whose strength is where yours is not.
When a visionary and integrator collaborate to implement a clear vision and create a system of implementation and accountability such as either Covey or Wickman suggest they will begin to see increased results.
Business success happens through effective leadership with a clear vision and effective execution. How are you doing in each of these areas. Do you need help thinking into your leadership? Contact me for a thinking partner session to help you think into your vision or execution so you can reach the next level. Lead Well.
References:
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
Gino Wickman Traction
Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling 4 Disciplines of Execution
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