Focus on getting things done

There is a difference between doing things and getting things done. Being active is not the same as being productive. Identify the few activities that account for most of your productivity and then concentrate your efforts on those few activities. As the leader, you are primarily responsible for outcomes and results whilst your team is primarily responsible for the activities that produce those results. The best way to achieve this is to become clear about what specific results you are trying to achieve and then to make this abundantly clear to your team so that everyone is ultimately moving towards the same goal.

Simplify and clarify everything

Simplicity and clarity are the two ores that move your organisation forward. You should ensure that everyone in the team is absolutely clear about their roles and responsibilities, targets and time frames, accountabilities and protocol. You can then simplify each role by using the 80/20 rule. This rule says that 80% of your productivity is the result of only 20% of your activities. Each member of the team should identify the 20% of activities that produce 80% of their results and then simply concentrate their efforts on those activities.

Inspect everything

People don’t do what you expect; instead, they do what you inspect! Make it part of your leadership routine to read reports, analyse data and talk to each member of your team often. Always keep your eye on the ball. This technique works when the team members know that it is happening and you have a healthy reputation in this area. Don’t forget to comment and give constructive feed back to them as you inspect. To often, leaders leave feed back for when something goes wrong. Your job is to congratulate, celebrate and recognise what’s working so that you can have more of the same. When correction or reprimand is needed it should be given swiftly so that the problem is nipped in the bud.

Clarify and cast your vision

All leadership is based on vision. Without it, said a wise man, the people perish. This simply means that your vision justifies your existence. Without a vision your organisation or campaign has no right to exist. Your vision is the purpose and point of your leadership. It depicts the outcomes you envisage and describes where your leadership is leading. If you are building an organisation or advocating for a cause, it should be clear to all what need you are seeking to meet and what purpose you wish to serve. Once you are clear about the objective of your leadership, you should ensure that everyone in your team understands why we are here and what we are ultimately trying to achieve. Vision casting is not a one off exercise, it is consistent stream of messages emanating from the leader and permeating every function of the organisation.