When you work on a team, you have all sorts of personalities when it comes to getting tasks done.
And often the bottleneck is the leadership…
So how do you Lead Up to help them reach the goals they’ve set for the company?
Keep reading to learn 3 tactics to influence your leadership when they’re the bottleneck.
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First a disclaimer – How you handle this situation really depends on your role. If you’re the director of operations you have different influence than if you’re an executive assistant.
Tactic #1
Always tie your requests to the outcome or goal your leadership is trying to achieve.
First and foremost remember that every task should be related to a specific outcome or goal.
If the primary goal is related to quarterly revenue, make sure that’s in your request.
If the task you’re requesting requires the leader or creator to record a video/podcast, write email copy, or approve a design, always tie your request to the larger business outcome.
For example:
Hey [leader’s name], we have a raw video due to the editor by next Wednesday, and if we don’t have it in time then we’ll have to pay $200 extra to rush the job. That will cut into our operating budget and revenue goals for this quarter. When do you think you can have the raw recording to me?
You’re doing a few things here:
1) Providing a clear deadline – Wednesday
2) Tying it to a clear business outcome – Quarterly revenue & operating expenses
3) Allowing them to take responsibility for the outcome – If they can’t get the recording done, they know what’s at stake and can own the results of not moving the task forward.
Remember, sometimes it’s okay to adjust course as long as you’re intention about it.
Tactic #2
Always give your leadership options to choose from when you make a request, and be open to them modifying any one of them.
When I was leading an Army Logistics company the best sergeants under my command were the ones who came to me with solutions.
They knew the mission we had to accomplish, and came to me with options.
As a leader I respected them for respecting my time.
They knew I was busy reporting to my leadership, planning maneuvers, and taking care of personnel issues.
When they wanted to move forward, they’d come to me often presenting 2-3 courses of action and giving me their recommendation.
80% of the time I’d take their recommendation and give them the resources they needed to keep moving forward.
I knew they’d execute better because they were executing on their idea. I didn’t have to be involved in every detail, and they didn’t want me to be.
The other 20% of the time, I’d ask questions and modify their recommendation to meet the larger mission.
I learned from my sergeants the art of leading up, and often got great results from my leadership when I brought them solutions.
Tactic #3
Always present a path forward and what actions you’ll take if the bottleneck isn’t cleared.
Just because a bottleneck exists doesn’t mean there isn’t a way to get through it.
One key way is to have action steps planned in advance that you can execute on even if no action is taken by the leader.
For example:
Hey [leader name], I need to move this project forward and could use your help. I recommend we take XYZ approach. If I don’t hear any changes from you by [date] the I’m going to move the project forward following my recommendation.
This does a number of things:
1) Presents your recommendation and gives them the opportunity to accept, modify, or reject it.
2) Provides a clear deadline for when the project will automatically move forward
3) Gives you a clear path forward if you don’t hear back.
All this being said, remember that your leadership is made up of real people who have busy schedules. Their priorities will not always align with yours.
The goal is to align everyone so that the bigger outcome can be achieved.
Work with your leadership and make it as easy as possible for them to take quick action, say yes to you, and build trust so they feel comfortable delegating more.
Do that and your organization will be set to scale.
Here’s to Leading Up!
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