Is a review overdue?
Leaders who work with their team in critically reviewing and analysing peak periods, to determine when performance needs to be at its best, will always be one step ahead of leaders who choose not to. Your ability to dive deep into assessing your own performance, especially during periods of intense pressure, will not only help you recognise and appreciate the needs of your business in terms of survival, but will also assist you in developing an adequate response.
I strongly believe we gain our greatest power and achieve the most when we deliver under immense pressure, so understanding how we have performed, relative to the level of success during these periods, is essential. What should you ask yourself to ensure your review process identifies how you should manage your team during peak periods and when is the right time to make adjustments?
Before we jump into this, let’s first take a look at the energy of your team. Reviews need to be conducted over a period of time, of maybe two to three weeks, in a calm and systematic environment. To get the most out of your review process you need to ensure your team as a collective has the right attitude towards what you are trying to achieve.
Teams with the right attitude recognise the need for a space where there is no blame, no egos, no finger pointing, no false claims for credit and a genuine interest in participating in a review.
Three essential ingredients:
1. Respect
2. Openness
3. Honesty
When you have comfortably achieved these three ingredients, you are ready to commence the review process.
Your review process should consist of four key questions where each team member is encouraged to reflect and respond on a personal level, confident in the presence of the three key ingredients listed above.
1. Under pressure, how have I behaved?
How did I manage my own emotions?
How did I manage my own behaviours?
2. Have I confronted this?
Did I make the required adjustments following my reflection?
3. How has your attitude responded to feedback?
Did I listen to feedback?
Did I recognise any feedback from my environment or other people?
To give you an example, when I was running football clubs, if I was ever to walk into the club during a period when we were under a lot of pressure, to find the change rooms or gym untidy, I would take this as a form of environmental feedback. This type of feedback identifies a significant drop in standards at a critical time of the season, which in turn requires an adjustment.
Typically, your environment will let you know before you recognise the shift in attitude amongst people. Your recognition of environmental feedback allows you to respond quickly and make adjustments to confront the cause in an attempt to resolve it and move forward.
Feedback can also come from people and this normally happens after the environment has alerted you to the situation. You need to listen to people so that you can put into practice what is required to manage your team during periods of increased pressure.
How you receive and recognise feedback, under pressure, will determine how you make the changes you need to as a leader, to essentially achieve the goals and objectives of your business.
4. How have we worked together towards identifying a solution?
Did I work with the team to identify a solution?
Did I communicate with everyone across the team?
Did I commit to the solution we identified as a team?
When working in a period of intense pressure, your ego can often take over as a form of self-preservation and inhibit your capacity to respond appropriately. What pressure actually needs you to do in this situation is think deeply about others and work with them in identifying a solution.
Working with your team and committing to a solution, even if the solution isn’t quite there, allows you to be successful on the day. Ideally, that energy translates into outcomes.
Is a review of your review process overdue?
If you answered yes to this question, I invite you to test my approach, as I truly believe in its potential to guide your team through periods of intense pressure. It will also empower them to critically assess their contribution to the team’s energy and commitment to solutions.
Please share your feedback with me. I look forward to hearing about any learnings or take-aways you identified as a result of your trial.
Now that you have a solid review process in place, what’s next?
As a leader, you no doubt appreciate and understand that the majority of the results you are accountable for are delivered by your team. After taking time out for self-reflection and asking yourself the four questions listed as part of my review process, did you identify that with your level of responsibility you often get distracted from the individuals that make your vision possible?
Would you like to unlock the full potential of your team?
My Executive Coaching Program offers individual and team development, designed to maintain the desired level of intensity required to better achieve results.
Let me take your team to the next level with a customised coaching solution today.
