Growth At Work » Leadership

The Goal Alignment Matrix

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:35:33 +0000

Recently, I created a tool called the Goal Alignment Matrix (GAM). It is a listing of company goals aligned with departmental goals aligned with a roadmap to achieve each department goal. In using the GAM with a current client, I realized that most of the managers that used the tool put down lofty goals. When they sat down to make a roadmap of how they were going to reach the goals, the goals seemed detached from the reality of what they were working on day to day. This realization prompted them to reevaluate their goals and in some instances, the activities they were engaged in on a daily basis.

Leaders without clarity

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:09:16 +0000

What is the right level of clarity when communicating a message? I want to be understood but I don’t want to oversimplify things. What is the right level of detail to communicate at? The answers to these questions make or break a message.

I have come across geniuses in a variety of fields. Many of them have been very poor communicators. Specifically, they jump from topic to topic without closing the loop on any one thought. Many leaders suffer from the same issue. They don’t have the time, patience or know how to dot the i’s and cross the t’s on a thought before moving on to the next one. Then they wonder why the people that work for them cannot follow instructions or are constantly asking for their help.

Leaders frustrated by leaders

admin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:59:53 +0000

Oftentimes, a Leader (capital L) is frustrated with her leaders. Usually it is because she is more organized, proactive and motivated than the people she leads. She walks into meetings with the answers. Her leaders never leave a meeting with her without an answer. She directs people with specific and explicit instructions. She points out her leaders’ mistakes in each meeting. Yet, her leaders don’t respond. This is the main cause of the Leader’s frustration. The missing link is the realization that leaders are not the only ones who need to change their mindset. The Leader is just as much a contributor to the lack of organization, proactivity and motivation as the leaders are.

Leaders who are too good at many functions in the company can stagnate the people that they lead

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:36:50 +0000

Leaders of small to medium sized companies are often better at performing almost all of the functions in their company than their employees. Many times, this is due to the fact that the leader has more “skin in the game” than anyone who works for him or her. Furthermore, they often expect the people that they hire to carry out the functions to be just like them in terms of process and thinking. This leads to increased dissatisfaction and frustration of the leaders with their employees.

Often, this dynamic leads to employees being in a constant state of awe of the leader and adopting a belief that they will never be as proficient as the leader in carrying out their functions in the company. Of course, this scenario leads to a situation where there is a stagnation in the leaders ability to lead and the employees’ ability to do their job better than the leader can.

In order to address the stagnant situation, much reflection and realization is required on both sides, the leader and the employees. However, the initiation to break the stalemate must come from the leader.