Reality Check on Leadership
Mar 3, 2010 at 03:46AM 
Do you subscribe to the idea that specific actions produce specific results? If so, where do you look when you’re not getting the results you want? Are you quick to point the finger at someone else?
After attending a training session about the effective use of KPIs and dashboards, a member of our sales team suggested that there were only four possible reasons for falling short of a desired result:
- The desired actions weren’t communicated clearly.
- The actions weren’t completed effectively.
- The prescribed actions were wrong for the desired results.
- The actions weren’t completed at all.
Genius, if you ask me (thanks Eric). I couldn’t think of any others. Can you?
The interesting point here is that most of the possible reasons for falling short of expectations are leadership issues. As the leader of my team, it’s my job to create and manage a simple process for getting results. I must (#1) clearly communicate how we do things and (#2) make sure the right people are trained to do them. If (#3) the things we do aren’t effective for getting the results we want, it’s my responsibility to help find a better way.
The only time I should start by looking anywhere other than the mirror is (#4) when things aren’t getting done at all, but only after careful reflection about how well I’ve held up my end of the bargain.
communication, leadership, responsibility in Leadership 
