Yesterday, we met with the six members of a Leadership Team. Two of the members regularly travel to the 25 locations of the company and work with the leaders at each location. They are very good at what they do and get good results, but not great results. We are trying to position this organization to grow (something they have tried in the past) but the effort always seems to start well and then fail. We were hired to ensure the growth not only happened, and happened in a planned, deliberate way.

During our meeting, we may have gotten one of the answers to what has been missing: the two members of the Leadership Team that work directly with the locations are teaching the location leaders, but only by “throwing pebbles in the trash can”.

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What do we mean by this? We were talking about leadership models, and I asked them if they used the model I was showing with 8 different types/styles that leaders need to use based on who they are leading). They said “yes”.

However, we uncovered that these two members of The Leadership Team, who have had a lot of training, were using the model themselves. They were not stepping back and teaching these location leaders the actual model. The location leaders did not know there were 8 styles, the characteristics of the leadership styles, or when to use them. So, while the location leaders would learn the model, it would take 11 years and 183 situations. It was like throwing pebbles in a trash can. It would take forever to fill!

One principle we believe so strongly in is the Sustainability of Meaning: teach, coach and train, but do it within a structure that is not only transferable, but easily teachable to everyone in an organization. This will allow you to shovel the pebbles into the trash can and fill it more efficiently and effectively, rather than just putting one pebble in at a time! It also allows leaders to create more impactful leadership within the organization that is not dependent on others.

• Do you and your leaders throw pebbles into trash cans or do they use shovels?

• How does your organization coach, teach, and train its employees?

• Does your organization have systems in place to review and revise the tools its employees and leaders are using?

For more information on impactful leadership, click here.

If your organization needs help defining and refining its tools to be more productive and efficient, contact our expert guides at 800-786-4332 or email CClemmer@AppliedVisionWorks.com. It only takes 30 minutes to get started!