Table of Contents
Introduction
Clear goals: start with why you do what you do
Step-by-step strategic plan
Clearly defined responsibilities
Conclusions
One of the primary needs of a team is to have a clear japan telephone number data vision (short and long term) that makes operational choices easy to understand and implement. Here are some questions that your team should be able to answer:
What is our goal?
What is our strategy to achieve this goal?
What is our step-by-step plan?
As a member of this team, what is my specific task to perform?
Which phases of the plan am I responsible for?
What decisions do I have the authority to make?
And, perhaps most importantly and most overlooked:
Why are we trying to achieve this goal?
In most cases, however, teams operate in a “reactive” mode, that is, in reaction to external or hierarchical stimuli. Over time, as strategies change, plans are modified, teams grow and processes tend to become even more confusing.
What effect does this approach have on company performance? Confused teams have difficulty achieving their goals, get distracted from their work, and duplicate their efforts but not their results. They realize too late that things are not going well (since few people are clear about responsibilities), so deadlines slip, quality, and productivity decrease.
In an effort to overcome the chaos and confusion, team members respond with an (uncontrolled) excess of communication: more emails, chats, and meetings. But communication overload is a symptom of a larger problem: the lack of systematic clarity that would allow people to focus on their actual work instead of getting bogged down in “ work on work ,” which consists of constantly reassessing what needs to be done each day.
Leading a team from chaos to clarity is one of the most important tasks of a leader. Unfortunately, leaders tend to overestimate the clarity that exists on their team. After all, the plan is already clear in their heads and individual team members tend not to disclose the need for more explanation or they find themselves in the awkward position of admitting that they don't know what they should do or why.
To avoid finding yourself and your team in these circumstances, it is important to understand the three key elements where it is essential to bring clarity to ensure that the complex interlocking mechanisms in the company function in an agile and efficient way: objectives , plan and responsibility . In the following sections we will analyze the importance of each and why it is essential to achieve a high level of transparency in each of them.
Clear goals: start with why you do what you do
It is important that everyone on a team shares a common purpose, a clear understanding of what they are working on.
Unless you run an assembly line, team members will always have to make judgment calls, and team goals provide the guidance to do so effectively. A marketing manager who is clear about their customers’ goals will empathize more effectively with their audience. A sales manager who is clear about the company’s mission and vision will stay focused on the most important initiatives to achieve that purpose, rather than being distracted by the endless list of potential opportunities or what competitors are doing.
Clarity of purpose is even more important for motivation, both individual and team motivation. A team that truly understands and believes in a common goal they are working toward is a team that can persevere through the difficult challenges they will face in their daily lives.
“Make more money than last year” is a goal, for example, but it doesn’t feel particularly inspiring to most workers. Great teams have a purpose that makes the world a better place. The most successful teams, like Google, Microsoft, and many others, all have the kind of clarity of purpose that serves the greater good.
One of the most important things you can do is help everyone on your team understand how your organization is impacting the world, how the team is critical to the organization’s success, and how their individual work matters to the team’s success.
You can start by defining your team’s mission statement, but once you’ve done that, the work of maintaining that clarity continues. Every team meeting, every important document, every new project, every onboarding session is an opportunity to reiterate the mission and explain how the work you’re doing serves your team’s mission.
You’ll know you’ve achieved clarity of purpose when everyone on your team can answer these two questions: “If we’re wildly successful, how will the world be different?” and “How will the work you’re doing now directly contribute to that success?” After all, there’s no point in moving fast if you’re not all going in the same direction or if your destination isn’t where everyone wants to be.
