Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Focusing on RESULTS!
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Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Leadership and Results
When you hear the word
results, what comes to mind?
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Defining Leadership
“A leader’s job is to make sure the
organization does the right things,
while a manager’s job is to make sure
we do those things right.”
Warren Bennis
Why Leaders Fail
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Defining Leadership
“I’m talking about leadership as the
development of vision and strategies,
the alignment of relevant people
behind those strategies, and the
empowerment of individuals to make
the vision happen despite obstacles.”
John Kotter
What Leaders Really Do
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Defining Leadership
Leadership:
The activity or process of
mobilizing people and groups to do
adaptive work.
Adaptive work: In doing adaptive work, the
problem is often unclear and
therefore the solution is unclear.
A Leader:
What one is “being” when one
exercises leadership, not a formal
position.
Ron Heifetz
Harvard JFK School
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Defining Leadership
“Effective leaders must connect the
attributes of leadership to results.”
“Being capable and possessing the
attributes of leadership is terrific, but
capability must be put to appropriate and
purposeful use. …leaders must strive for
excellence in both terms; that is, they
must demonstrate attributes and achieve
results.”
Dave Ulrich, Jack Zenger, Norm Smallwood
Results-Based Leadership
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Defining Leadership
“Execution is the great unaddressed issue …
today. It’s absence is the single biggest
obstacle to success. … Execution is not just
tactics… It has to be built into an
organization’s strategy, its goals, and its
culture.”
“The organization’s leader cannot delegate its
substance.”
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
Execution – The Discipline of
Getting Things Done
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Necessary Linkages
People
Strategy
Results
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Strategy

You cannot craft a worthwhile strategy if you
don’t have or cannot get what’s required to
execute it – the right resources and people.

Strategy takes into account people and
operational realities.

You must know your capacity and capabilities
when you craft your strategy.
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
People

Getting results requires that the right
people, individually and collectively,
focus on the right details at the right
time.

To get results staff have to be
committed to the strategy and the action
plan. Ideally they are involved in
creating the action plan and have a
vested interest in its success.

Staff must be accountable for getting
results.
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Leaders

Only a leader can ask the tough questions that
everyone needs to answer, then manage the
process of debating the information and
making the right trade-offs.

Part of the leader’s responsibility is to observe
the players, individually and collectively – on
the field and “from the balcony.”

The leader uses knowledge of the business to
constantly probe and question; to bring
weaknesses to light, and to rally staff to
correct them.
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Getting Results is …
“…a systematic process of




rigorously discussing ‘hows’ and ‘whats,’
questioning,
tenaciously following through, and
ensuring accountability.
It includes





making assumptions about the business
environment,
assessing the organization’s capabilities,
linking strategy to operations and the people who
are going to implement the strategy,
synchronizing those people and their various
disciplines, and
linking rewards to outcomes.”
Execution
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Seven Essential Behaviors
1.
Know your people and your business.
2.
Insist on realism.
3.
Set clear goals and priorities.
4.
Follow through.
5.
Reward the doers.
6.
Expand people’s capabilities through
coaching.
7.
Know yourself.
From Execution
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
Additional Suggestions
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8.
Begin with an absolute focus on results.
Take complete and personal responsibility for your
group’s results.
Clearly and specifically communicate expectations
and targets to the people in your group.
Determine what you need to do personally to improve
your results.
Measure and increase the rigor with which you
measure.
Constantly take actions; results won’t improve
without it.
Seek feedback about ways you and your group can
improve outcomes.
Model your methods and strive for the results you
want your group to use and attain.
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
An Exercise:
1.
Identify the three highest priority results you
are currently committed to deliver.
2.
Note what you are doing to deliver on your
commitment? What is the due date? How
will you know you are successful?
3.
Time to coach each other.
Workshop 3 @ The University of Texas, February 7-9,
2006
References
1.
Execution – The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry
Bossidy and Ram Charan, Crown Business, New York,
NY, 2002.
2.
Results-Based Leadership, Dave Ulrich, Jack Zenger,
and Norm Smallwood, Harvard Business School Press,
Boston, MA, 1999.
3.
Getting Things Done – The Art of Stress-Free
Productivity, David Allen, Viking, New York, NY, 2001.