KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY IN LEADERSHIP
Leadership is complex and challenging. You need to set the direction, communicate your vision, and be on top of strategy execution.
Focus on a positive workplace/team culture, align and mobilize talent to ensure they are working to their strengths and effective in their roles.
You are connecting purposefully internally and externally with a timely cadence. And…all the while personally managing your effectiveness and energy levels.
How a person performs in a leadership role matters. This is an obvious statement, but one we need to ponder as the top 20% of leaders could contribute more than 2.8% of the average leader.
Working on soft leadership skills is hard – ironic, isn’t it!
If you rate yourself on how you are performing as a leader on a scale of 1-5 (1-being abysmal to 5-knocking it out of the park)
- How are you performing?
- Why do you give yourself this rating, and in what areas can you improve?
No matter the industry sector nor size of the business or team, a leader’s key areas of responsibility include these steps:
1. SETTING THE DIRECTION
Looking back to look forward or conducting a review to do a preview of what’s coming is an essential leadership tactic.
Think of a Venn diagram, with the overlapping circles intersecting in the middle, that central area of overlap is the core focus. In the instance of setting direction, consider what is needed (your customer/client needs), what is your superpower (what you are good at), what drives you (what you are passionate about) and the big business kicker $ (how you can make money).
Be bold when setting your vision, direction, strategies, and resource allocation. Think beyond what is needed and focus on what is required in the future.
QUESTION: Why should we exist five years from now?
2. ALIGNING STRATEGIC PRIORITIES WITH BUSINESS GOALS
When taking on any new priority, ensure first it aligns with your overall business goals. This will ensure that you stay on track and focused for the long game. Don’t forget to set performance milestones, these will motivate and keep you accountable. Eliminate activities that do not contribute to core areas of focus.
QUESTION: What strategic priorities are you working on that ARE NOT aligned with your business goals? Why?
3. LEADING TO AN INDIVIDUALS PSYCHOLOGY
Everyone has a different psychology. What they need from a leader and how they receive it can be unique. A good leader makes the time to understand how to best lead each person in their team and get the psychology and mechanics right to help the individual be the best they can be in their position. A leader applauds an individual’s wins, supports them in situations, and provides professional development to help them be more effective in their role.
QUESTION: Do you know how you can best lead each team member?
4. EXECUTING CONSISTENTLY ON THE RIGHT THING
I love this quote:
‘There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.’
~ Peter Drucker
A reminder to constantly be assessing what the right thing is to be focused on and consistent in the execution of action to get it done. Remember the 80/20 rule or Pareto Principle (80% of our outcomes come from 20% of our causes), prioritize high-impact tasks, resulting in greater productivity and results. Look at your entire task list, prioritize based on the impact level each task would have if complete on your work/business goals, focus first on those top 20% of items on your list as they will result in 80% of the impact that you can generate for the day.
QUESTION: What are the top 20% of tasks I need to focus on today?
5. FOCUSING ON CULTURE AND ENGAGEMENT
One of the most challenging things about leading a business team is not the work that needs to be done but… working with the people, navigating personalities and reframing a business culture to be more positive. Motivating and inspiring someone to improve their mindset, work ethic, or ability to work with others takes time and needs to be very intentional.
From a work culture and employee engagement perspective, I encourage you to start by working on one thing. It could be your: hiring process, onboarding, annual performance reviews, processes to address bottlenecks and points of frustration, engagement survey, revised job descriptions or the incorporation of team building activities to look forward to.
There are so many items that you can focus on, pick the lowest hanging fruit that will help you improve culture and engagement and go for it!
QUESTION: How can you inspire your team to do their best work?
6. CONNECTING WITH STAKEHOLDERS
To ensure strong relationships with your stakeholders, you need to start with a foundation of trust.
When was the last time you asked your stakeholders for feedback on any process or improvement recommendations?
Engage and share the goals you are working on, help your stakeholders understand your opportunities and challenges, harvest new ideas, and stay focused on a forward-looking agenda.
QUESTION: What stakeholders should you connect with this week?
7. MANAGING PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS
As a busy professional, one of the most important things to focus on is your time. Take back your calendar, be conscious of every item scheduled one week out and determine if you need to be present in every meeting. Be intentional about what you want to achieve daily, weekly, quarterly and annually.
QUESTION: Can you articulate your professional areas of strength and work style? What changes do you need to make to be more consistent and effective in your role?
‘You have to reinvent yourself. The world changes. You have to change.’
~ Roberto Setubal, Chairperson, Itau Unibanco
If you have any questions about leadership and leader’s key responsibilities, or want to learn more on the powerful benefits of executive coaching to elevate your leadership success, please reach out to +1 604-616-1967 or jenny@jennyreilly.com and book a complimentary 30-minute strategy session. If you want monthly leadership tips, sign up for my JRC newsletter or check out my social media on Instagram for top leadership advice throughout the year.
