Fully Equipped
Practical Applications in Servant Leadership, part 2
Previous post: part 1
Last week I started a series of short notes launching off Gallup’s Q12 Engagement survey questions to reverse engineering leadership practices that help build and maintain good, engaged relationships with your direct reports. This week we’ll look at the next question from that survey:
Q2: I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
It’s hard to overstate how important it is that everyone gets the tools he or she needs to succeed. It’s staggering how often failure is preceded, not by a lack of effort or care on the part of a team member, but by setting out to complete a job they lack all the pieces to complete. Sadly, people get let go from jobs where the main problem was that they were never given what they needed to succeed and too many employers and leaders don’t pay attention to changing requirements and needs.
So for you, leader, how many of your direct-reports will strongly agree with that statement? How confident are you in that assessment? Part of the trouble is that most people are so busy that they don’t even think to make sure there isn’t something blocking success like a lack of a specific tool or material.
Here’s a few things you can do to make sure you’re not sending out your team lacking the tools to succeed:
Have a regular standup meeting that includes naming blockers. Our team here at Diadem Coaching has a daily, virtual practice where one of the questions everyone answers, every day, identifies blockers to completing their tasks. This will almost certainly shine a light on missing tools or materials quickly.
Build a planning cycle wherein your team members are encouraged to be a part of planning out future projects for the team, including identifying tools and materials that would be needed to complete said project. Centralized planning will often fail to consider items that “people in the seat” will intuitively note as needed tools and materials.
Regularly interact with your team around what I learned to call PB&J. (No, it’s not a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but that’s what makes the letters memorable). It stands for Processes, Bottlenecks, and Jams. Each week, ask at least one team member to identify a broken process, a bottleneck that slows things down, or a jam that keeps people from finishing tasks. They’ll start giving them to you without your asking oncethis is a team discipline! The investigation process around the stated PBorJ will often lead to where someone in your organization is lacking the tools to do their job. The Ritz Carlton in Atlanta once was able to figure out that being short on room linens was causing breakfast room service trays to be late as a persistent problem (see Excellence Wins, Chapter 2 for the whole story).
What other ways have you seen someone identify, or sussed out yourself, where a clear lack of tools hindered success?
This is Part 2 of the Practical Applications in Servant Leadership series.
Part 1: Clear Expectations
So good. Thank you!