Establishing a sense of urgency instead of panic in adapting to a fast-paced business world is crucial. In this episode, Eric Boles shares how a leader can bring her or his team along in the rapidly evolving environment. Learn how to develop and share an understanding of direction to keep your team performing consistently.
Establishing a sense of urgency instead of panic in adapting to a fast-paced business world is crucial. In this episode, Eric Boles shares how a leader can bring her or his team along in the rapidly evolving environment. Learn how to develop and share an understanding of direction to keep your team performing consistently.
Transcript
[0:00] Yeah, we wanna move at pace. We don't wanna move at panic. And so, we understand we have to move.
[0:07] Pics. One of the things that facilitate pace.
Unleashing your best in life and work this is the game changers with Eric Bowls and host Dale Dixon
And welcome I'm your host Dale Dixon i coach and speak around communication I am with Eric Boles who eh coaches and trains around leadership helping leaders unleash the,
Potential and the potential of those around them Eric so good to be with you again
We release these on a weekly basis and we have a bit of a bank of podcast that we have on our disposal but we haven't really had a chance to talk for several weeks because you have just been
On an airplane somewhere in the country. Every single week, multiple places a week. So, when we were talking about, what do we talk about today?
Tell me what you said about what you're hearing with your finger on the pulse speaking deleters.
[1:15] Alignment. I mean, just when you have so many factors in influencing teams, especially leadership teams that are outside your control,
How do we make sure we just don't get so distracted that we lose sight of what we're trying to do?
And and so the whole question around, man, are we need to, you know, people use different words like how can we become a better team? How many come one team? How can we get better online? How can we make sure our focus is in the right place? How can we move?
[1:45] With pace with urgency
But not with panic right there's a difference I was like we gotta move it paste not with panic right
I think being able to have these conversations
In in face to face a little more often now it's it's it's been a good thing but that that the common thread
Over the common theme across the board I'm talking about from trucking the food service to pharmaceutical to health care to,
Insurance to retail. Like, these are all the various sectors I've been in. And if you remove the name of the company,
And if you remove the industry.
It was it would sound like they're having the exact same issues or saying same questions or conversations. They're just dressed up differently. And so that's what's been going on.
So
[2:53] To start at the the ground level we as you were explaining this to me before we hit the record button it's like we're seeing
Things in every industry and leaders are seeing things in every industry that they've never experienced before and so when you start thinking about strategy and planning and how do you plan for what's coming down.
The road,
We don't even know what's coming down the road so what you can't set a strategy you can't make a plan and a lot of these were making decisions in the moment as leaders and so when you think about.
[3:27] Bringing a team along in that rapid pace of decision making without a lot of okay here's our strategy for the next
12 months and here's what we're going to be doing. The first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, fourth quarter to achieve that strategy and hit those markers.
Oh, well, we just had a world conflict thrown at us. We just had, you know,
We don't know what to plan for. So, when you think about it from that standpoint
Elaborate more on what that looks like from an organizational standpoint and leaders getting their people to align when decisions are happening in the moment and it's so difficult to plan far ahead,
No, that's great deal. Wait, there was,
We've always had to be strategic. We've always had to be tactical. We always wanted those things to to to work in conjunction with each other
We've never really had a time where they had to work simultaneously
We don't get 3 day
Our sites to be.
[4:52] Pencil really the biggest adjustment that you know at least one of the things I'm encouraging leaders to do in,
In teams to do is our ability to adapt and be agile is now more important than ever before and when we talk about adapting our job for senior leadership teams it's not about them doing actual work.
[5:12] It's about how quickly they can communicate and get perspective to the people doing the work and so what happens what's happened for so long is we've been able to put our heads down and just,
Really grind.
Hey so if I'm in charge of marketing I'm just putting my head down and grinding around marketing if I'm jar of a business development I put my head down and grinding do better
I'm responsible for making sure that
This is a well the problem with that and it ever changing environment like we're having right now.
Silo in no matter how big it is it's still a little silo in.
Not just where they're functional area had and that is.
It sounds good but that's just not a branding issue. That's a how you approach meetings, how you approach conversation, sometimes the what it takes, we got a multiplier intelligence, we all gotta look at things the same way. The days of the CEO, or the leader, or the manager, the owner of the business,
Is the only one in the room you know.
[6:35] Losing sleep. That's over.
I like it describe it this way where.
Of what it is we're doing and that shared understanding is a continual ongoing process like we're constantly if this was football we're huddling up,
It it we're huddling up in in a hurry though it's frequent so we we don't spend a lot of time in huddle,
But we do have to huddle that the days of no huddle offense are about over, right? Because we we the the defense keeps.
King Jing they're covered
And I'm not trying to make this a football example but many times when you know I've had leaders ask me before it's like well Eric we need to run a know how to office I said that's good.
[7:34] Because that allows you to control.
[7:37] The the set or the defense of scheme that the defense can be in they can't make adjustments when you're in a it when you're in a no huddle office.
But that's not what's happening here,
You have to understand how you have to respond.
The reason you're not in control is the reason you're stress level so high I deal leaders is all done stressing control go hand in hand when you have stuff like a pandemic when you have stuff like a.
You know, geopolitical conflicts that that are way closer to home than than just some way out there place.
All of a sudden you start realizing how little control you have and when you don't have a lot of control it starts.
[8:25] To limit how far in the future you can see because there's things you can't depend on and the minute those variables kick in place all of a sudden we start going,
Okay then what we do I mean we set a planner and so the real solution we come to us is not like our plan is gonna be perfect but we gotta get clear about what it is we want and why we want it,
But the how.
We're gonna have to be more flexible than we've ever been before. Like we have to know this is what it is we're gonna do but how we're gonna do it? The the
Probability that the house gonna change is 100%
So so if we don't embrace that you know now we got some challenges.
[9:09] Exactly. I was listening to a an executive who overseas culture.
Add a large organization.
The idea of communication and I think it really relates in this situation because she said the CEO was.
[9:28] Putting videos out put 60 videos out in the course of a few short months in in during.
You know the height of COVID and what was going on there,
Avenue and approach to communication and the messages they're not scripted they're they're not canned it's not.
Part of a process if you're thinking like a marketing process but it's hey.
You know what? I noticed this today. I'm gonna tell a story about what I saw and how one of our team members reacted in this situation. How we were flexible? Hey, here's what I'm seeing in the market.
Day. Here's something that we need to be thinking about as we adjust to that.
Pushing these short quick videos and it's easy now I can throw a camera up in front of my face I can,
You know we've we've gotta set up at our desk now for most of us for zoom in and to create that so the community.
[10:28] Then we we we as leaders we think we oh it's gonna be repetitive if I keep talking about it or it's people are gonna get tired of it or they've already heard that message so good.
[10:39] So good.
Taking advantage of every opportunity to communicate even the most miniscule minute what might be seen as hey this is not him not that important for the entire organization to know but what's the impact on people,
When we're working toward this trying to get shared understanding to you. That's right.
That's right. One of the things you you you even in that example you just gave I love it. You know one of the things is important for every leader to know is at the point you get tired of saying the same thing. You just got started.
Because you have a tendency to overestimate.
How much impact you're having by one clear message are you saying it one time let me just make sure it's clear no one heard you think I mean it it they heard you but they weren't necessary listen it takes time so.
It takes a while for the same message to be heard molt over and over and over again and so with the example you just gave from that particular leader you know 60 massive I mean that is what a great.
[11:47] Example.
[11:54] No you don't you may say the same principle you can say the same statement,
You need multiple examples and stories and everything constantly to reinforce what that means one of the coaches primary message was do your job.
But he would show 50 different highlights from different parts of the game of people doing their job so it read so we're never bored we're here and do your job we
Found new ways to that's what doing your job looks like and it just continue to permeate so all of a sudden do your job became everybody's mantra because we all had a way of connecting to it so when you have a leader who's willing to speak like that in that
Frequently is a big, it's a big deal. I will also say this for every leader here. And just every person in general hearing this.
The way you turn.
[12:55] The way you turn fear in the confidence.
[13:03] Cuz passion can way
Consistency is greater than intensity why while by being clear is sometimes better than just being passionate passionate hasn't intensity to it and that's great
But I need this consistently because if not,
And you know, like I said before, even in my playing days, you just go out in the second half and we're making the same mistakes with greater intensity, right? Like so, it's not like we're in proving and so when a leader can be.
Clear and the way he becomes more and more clear this is how it ties together,
Is by being consistent so the more I hear that message the more I hear it repeat it with examples.
Picture he's describing becomes clear so where you talking about communication but what it's a subtle thing but when leaders realize.
Pictured.
Gets done not just what's said so when you do something consistently same message over and over i can begin to see what the leaders this driving I'm not just hearing it and that's the game changer.
[14:19] That's the power of telling a story.
[14:23] And identifying your organization that highlight the principles the same principle over and over and over again but with a different stories and how you see it play out that helps me as an employee or as somebody in the organization really see it.
Boom.
Is
I go to the disc score and and I spent quite a bit of time understanding that in the difference and how people are different and we have people who,
Loved love rules and want to be able to follow the rules and know what's coming and have consistency over time.
[15:12] Still how do we as leaders start to help the the
The variety and of folks who are in our organizations especially who tend to be those hey this is the way we've always done it why do we need to change it verse,
In the flexibility arena.
So, when we say flexible in agile that it's easy to be flexible, it's easy to be agile, it's easy to be adaptive.
When you know what the fundamental or the foundations are. So, you know, I'm I am never like, you know,
I am not very interested. Here in a leader saying need to be flexible which is a leader who just doesn't like following rules anyways. I'm not really listening to you. You're right like so you know what I'm saying like there is there's
Man.
I don't care how much talent you have we're living in in time unfortunately where we use a lot of talent conversations in organizations like we got a choir talent it's all about talent acquisition we do this with talent.
Yeah, but really what you gotta do with talent is develop it and now, you gotta develop it. You gotta structure it in a way where that talent can be maximized. There's a lot of
People who draw in talent to make up for what you lack in process to when you lack in a plan would you lack an order and what ends up happening is you use all that great talent.
[16:39] Two,
That process could've taken care of. So, there you you gotta value both like and the way I like to say it, you need enough freedom but that freedom needs to.
[16:53] It need to be within a framework,
So, you and so every leader needs to know the value of both. So, you know, I challenge videos. Hey, look, you got some people who all about structure and process and they don't wanna change.
Before you call it though before you say they don't wanna change before you say they're before you do that.
[17:15] Destruction they've established what they follow it has a systematic approach there's something systematic about it,
To remove a systematic and not replace something that also has at least some symbols of order.
[17:28] Is wrong to a portion of your team? Cuz it doesn't work. So, what's the bolt end? We have to be systematic where we can be and flexible where we need to be but we need to be both. So, I tell leaders all time, you need to create value in
We just gotta do it and we have no way to support the growth once we get it that's not okay,
Right and then on the flip side we create this great structure
But we're doing nothing to grow. We got the strong muscular base. I mean, a skeletal base but we don't lift any weights, right? Like we don't move anything to grow the muscle. So, it's so important right now for a leader.
Two, not just emphasize how important it is to be flexible.
Also be very clear and if I say it later on, man, you need to be also be clear.
Like that's nice to know like,
Last point.
[18:37] Exchange. Any leader who has to and we all know that we're in the time of change. We get it. But the only thing change guarantees
Said this before the only thing that changed guarantees is that there will be a loss however you describe loss something's going away or something is gonna.
All game is probable.
Probability, right? Like, our hope we get better because of this change, I believe we make this adjustment and do that. We brought in a new leader.
But before you say, oh, this is gonna be so much better. We're believing so. We're hoping so. We're going through the process. So,
Anytime leaders are dealing with change around people wanna know two things we wanna know what needs to change but we also wanna know what staying the same and I think doing both of those in that both end diameter is really really critical.
[19:32] Good.
Time to transition into this urgency versus panic. Yeah. Part of the conversation. Because when you when you said that that really captured me cuz it's really easy to get into this.
What feels like a panic mode. We might not be panicking but it sure feels like that to people around us is as those changes are coming fast and that they might not have been communicated as well as we should have. Like that. So,
What what do you see some of the significant markers that make a difference between urgency,
And panic.
[20:20] Peace but if we're gonna move that page that means.
And in that collapses time and speed things up I think Stephen Covey said it back so he got the speed of trust right and trust levels.
[20:38] Have to go up because in order for me to first move at pace
It's not a lie it's not doable right now that that goal is unrealistic because of the timelines we have to function under so what we're gonna do now is
We're gonna have to trust
Through our feedback loops we're gonna have to communicate in ways we haven't had to communicate before we're gonna have the challenge I've been challenging leadership teams now to say listen
You guys challenge each other
Way before your customer does but just because you're an HR sometimes because you're an HR you're the right person to question what we're doing over here in operations just because you're in a marketing doesn't mean you shouldn't question what we're doing in supply chain just because you're in finance doesn't mean you shouldn't question what's going on.
Actually we need teams functioning like that now more than ever
Faster. That means our practice time which is our meeting time.
What's happened too often is we have all these meetings that somebody just telling us updating on us us on what they're doing.
[21:53] So little value is game from those meetings and because you is there not getting valuable you losing two things we're losing time and we're losing impact
So it's.
[22:11] What
As a time to get better aligned on what we're trying to do why we're trying to do it what do we need to adjust and turns a how we're doing it remembering the benefits but also keep talking about the cost of an action and cost of inaction in a panic it's just an acknowledgement that if we don't do this by here this could be the consequence
If we do it by here, this can be the benefit. Okay, that's a healthy conversation. Now, we all walk out with clarity.
[22:43] Based on who the leader is.
So if the CEO knows what the cost is but everybody else doesn't they're gonna get that CEO's emotion they're gonna get his or her emotion without the clarity
And so all of a sudden we're all just freaking out because
Delete your freaking out okay or we're all freaking out because we got some feedback no we gotta be aligned so now we're moving at pace
But not in a hurry and so how do we do that? Those meetings we get to get a line or everything.
Are you seeing effective teams meeting and doing these things on a week if you if you look at a week if you break down a week and say here's a week.
In the life of.
[23:45] What is a breakdown to when,
Right? Like, and I'm not saying lommies. It's just these check-ins and I've always said, at least once a week, Alan, even if you have to do a virtual and people.
No matter what but you gotta huddle. You can't be right now.
Where I say when you're not a owner operator or you're not AA leader who's actually doing the work but you're manytime being reported out on what's taking place. Man, once you can have that clarifying meaning once a week.
Then everything you do rest a week
Is coaching to the things you just had on that Monday that's why it's so critical but if you don't have that now you can't referencing so every single time once a week I believe is is is
It feels like a lot because in the it is but man to start the week without that
I mean, I don't care if it's an hour, I don't care. That would be the most fusic. Hey, let's get back here. Okay, what have we agreed to again? Okay, what do we expect to get taking place this,
Because any it's important that the whole team hears it and the way I like describe from a football standpoint.
I'm a wide receiver if I'm only worried about catching a ball I got something I need to know like why does it matter that.
[25:12] We need a certain number of first downs even if we don't score just to put the defense in a better position to be more effective against the ball back but if I don't hear none of that and I'm only carrying about my part,
Man, then, all of a sudden, you know, my my view is limited. Now, I don't realize the impact.
[25:29] Or more importantly the impact of my actions on others or the benefit if I'm aware of that,
Now, all of a sudden the work i do has greater meaning. Now, I'm having a greater impact on the team and this is what leaders can do once a week with especially their leadership team. They gotta make sure that they're aligned in that.
And once we can do that now we just cuz if we can model it there that should be a frequency that happens,
Throughout the organization because at the end of the day, it's not for the CEO to
Every single person got the message. No, he has to make sure his direct team has the message and then he holds him accountable to making sure they got their next team that's how the only way that I can work.
So I have some ideas around this but I'm thinking
Tests are maybe pop quizzes to make sure that there is alignment throughout the organization from the front line all the way to the leadership team
Hey one of the questions I tell you
Leader CEO, whatever, sometimes do and it's not step over interviews. It's just, I mean, these are questions you can ask informably. This is what you can do in the ring. Okay,
It's like simply going.
[26:49] What matters most? Okay, so tell me what matters and and you can hear some of the answers which clearly tell you there hasn't been a conversation.
To make sure what they're doing in lines with what's about to take place. I mean, because I get, again, I said it before. If our pitches don't match.
Hopefully this makes sense when I was with the Green Bay Packers never forget Mike Holmgren was the head coach.
Andy Ree was my tiding coach. We had some really good coach John thank you was there and all that. So, I remember I ran a route.
And I have been told many times okay what's important here you gotta run full speed you gotta do this you gotta do that you gotta do that yeah all these things and so I added my personal coach.
Talk a lot. So, he would tell me but I will hear so many messages. You know, over and over again. And I never forget, my co-worker comes over to me and I can see his real frustrate and he says,
Tell me.
[27:57] He goes the most important thing I never forget is to run,
Because when the ball's not coming to you we can't get it to somebody else because you're in the freaking way
So wonderful speed run it moves the defense would push him what's the number one thing i said run full speed he only stay with me for a second.
His next attention was directly to my receiver coach
He goes this is on you this is not on him he goes I'm telling him so he's never confused by it again but your messages make it clear their priorities on a never forget that I will never
Ever ever forget that and so when I talk to leaders I'm like hey
That happens further out into the organization. Remember,
You gotta make sure you're clear with your team but then it's critical that they're clear with their team. The how it's executed is where there's flexibility.
Because it looks different at each role in terms of the tactics and application.
But what were going after and what significant and why is important that better be understood by everybody never forget.
[29:17] And you told that in such a strong way we're not gonna forget it either. So, yeah, we're gonna as leaders go back into organizations and use that question because it is, that's the tell. That is the tell.
Fantastic. Any final words for us? As we wrap up this episode about team alignment.
It is a ongoing too many variables, too many hits happen that change everything. This is why in every sporting event, every game, just life itself, we know it.
Is constant huddles is constant adaptations adjustments and everything so to any leader who's don't don't feel down
When it feels like the team's not online and don't be too excited when they are alive could you get out of alignment in a hurry hit a little curb make sure you know you need to go back to the car place have them allow you to know.
Fantastic. Alright. The book.
He is available to work with your leadership as well because he coaches trains and inspires leaders to unleash
Their potential and the potential of those around them Eric Bowls the website address is the game changers.
[30:43] Calm.
This is the game changers podcast we would really appreciate you.
Rating and reviewing this podcast makes it easier for others if you're listening on a podcast app make sure you are subscribe to this podcast and if you would share with someone in your life who would help.
It would help around this idea of alignment.
Appreciate it. We're back next week. This is the game changers. Unleashing your best in life and work.
The game changers unleashing your best in life and work with Eric Bulls and Dale Dixon.
Eric is an executive coach, leadership expert, change consultant, and keynote speaker.
Read his book moving to great and find him at eric bulls. Com connect with Dale at Dale Dixon Media. Com.
[31:37] Music.