Leadership Tip of the Week

Forward the Action!

If you want your team members to speak and engage in effective conversation that achieves 100% alignment especially around complex issues or decisions, get your people to follow this rule: “Always forward the action when you speak”.

In most teams people don’t have the orientation or skill around forwarding the action. Instead they:

  1. Don’t listen to each other. Instead they quietly wait for their turn to speak.
  2. Disagree before the other person completed expressing their view.
  3. Argue about non-essential things.
  4. Argue about topics they agree about.
  5. Say everything that is on their mind, even if they only need a fraction of it to convince others in their view.

Here are some practical rules you could implement in your team’s conversations to elevate their effectiveness:

  1. Don’t merely highlight the dilemmas and questions – take a stand and propose your suggested choice for the solution or direction.
  2. Never opine just because you have an opinion. Always enroll others in your stand.
  3. If you don’t have a stand, something to say that will forward the action – restrain from talking. Just listen and see if you could get behind someone else’s stand.
  4. When you express your opinion at the end always say “therefore I propose” and propose something that will forward the action.
  5. Listen keenly to the essence of what others are saying to see if you are actually aligned. Don’t waste time arguing about the non-essential aspects without first confirming if you are aligned on the essence. Once you are aligned on the essence, you could work the details and articulation of the decision or direction much quicker. If you are not aligned on the essence debating the details is a waste of time.

Lead by example and teach others that if they don’t have something to say that will forward the action – don’t say anything!

Don’t miss my latest blog posts

Why Bold Visions Fail – And How to Make Yours Succeed

/
I have coached many teams and organizations in creating bold and aspirational strategies that take their success to the next level. Every transformation begins with setting ambitious goals. And every team emerges from this initial exercise highly optimistic, energized and eager to achieve a better future for their company and themselves. Time and time again, I am impressed and inspired by leaders’ genuine enthusiasm, commitment, and resolve to realize aspirational goals that, at the outset are often viewed as beyond current. Unfortunately, when it comes to fulfilling aspirational goals and transformational change, there are two types of leaders: those who stay the course and those who don’t.
Completing

Complete 2020 in the most meaningful way, especially given COVID-19.

/
Completing a chapter effectively can be a meaningful and powerful…
Are you standing in your future or in your past?

Are you standing in your future or in your past?

/
In 1899 Charles H. Duel, then Director of the U.S. Patent Office,…

Quantum Performance Services

Align and engage your organization in fulfilling a bolder future.

Build a high-performance team no matter what your starting point.

Generate a bold strategy with 100% team alignment & ownership.

Become a more powerful & courageous leader in business and your life.