The Simple Technique Leaders Use to Improve Team Peformance

As a manager overseeing multiple people, does it automatically mean you lead a team?

The vast majority of managers fool themselves into believing the answer is yes. But that might not be the case.

A team, by definition, is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal or shared purpose.

Imagine you get on an elevator with five people, all going to different floors in a high-rise building. Are you a team?

No, you are five people on an elevator, but all going different places.

Now imagine you are in the same elevator with the same people, but the elevator gets stuck between floors four and five. Are you now a team?

Yes, now you have a common goal: get the elevator unstuck.

What the best leaders understand is:

Most Work is Mundane

Over a decade ago (wow, that makes me feel old), a Human Resources executive reached out about partnering to help improve performance by developing leaders in their Kansas City location. While I was excited to deliver the Accelerate Leadership workshop, I learned more than I taught.

Each day, all three shifts maintained a live scoreboard tracking the number of wheels delivered, the number of safety incidents, and the number of train cars they put in motion that day due to their work. They not only competed with each other, but also with the best version of their shift each week.

It taught me an important lesson. The work employees were doing was repeating similar tasks over and over again, but in slightly different ways. This is how a large percentage of the world's jobs are. See, most work is mundane, but it doesn’t mean it can’t be meaningful.

Small Targets Lead to Big Results

The best leaders are visionary; they have a long-term vision or a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) that inspires transformation. However, it’s easy to lose sight of goals like this when you are in the middle of doing the mundane work daily.

What we have learned from working with the highest-performing teams in the world is that they establish a short-term, shared target that is six months or less in length. The keys are both the length of time and the fact that it’s shared.

Instead of another goal being cascaded down from the ivory tower that might or might not excite the team to achieve, this is something they help create and get aligned on. Here are a few examples:

• Biotech company: Get FDA Approval for One Essential Drug in 6 months or less.

• Services Company: Get 10 new clients to support revenue diversification in 6 months.

• Publishing Company: Establish and communicate the Matrix organizational structure company-wide within 6 months.

Whether these examples resonate with you, what you can learn from them is that they were wrestled to the ground between team members through tough discussions and it helped eliminate silos with the organization. The result: an aligned team rowing in the same direction, cheering and challenging each other to get there.

Closing

You play a crucial role in establishing and communicating the short-term shared goal. This allows each of your team members to evaluate the individual effort and focus required to work towards the achievement of the target.

While the leader doesn’t have to be a team member who comes up with the goal, they do have to create a space to identify it. Once it is mutually agreed upon then they must monitor progress, hold team members accountable, and celebrate achievement.

If you create a Short-Term Shared Target or you currently have one your team is working towards, simply reply to this email and share it with me. Can’t wait to hear what your team is working to accomplish!

Use your gifts,

John Eades

CEO | LearnLoft | The Sales Infrastructure

P.S. Beginning today, we are offering a free 60-minute workshop for organizations. We’re talking real workshops delivered by me to leaders in your organization around:

• Coaching for Excellence

• Talent Evaluation

• Accountability and Difficult Conversations

• AI Enhanced Leadership

If you believe this could be a good fit for your organization, please complete the form here.

P.S.S. I apologize in advance for the Optimistic Outlook newsletter below. We had to put down our 14-year-old dog Henry yesterday. It was harder and more emotional than I thought it would be.

The Optimistic Outlook (Newsletter)

The Optimistic Outlook is a daily newsletter designed to remind you to focus on the bright side, one day at a time. Join 500+ leaders who are already improving their Optimistic Outlook.

The Optimistic Outlook is now available wherever you listen to podcasts. Channel your inner John Eades and make your kids listen to it, then read it aloud to work on their minds and communication skills.

Leaders Must Eliminate Toxicity and Negativity (Video)

When You or Your Company is Ready, Here Are Some Ways We Could Partner:

1. Free Workshop: Book a free 60-minute skill mastery workshop for managers in your organization or a culture workshop for your executive team.

2. Accelerate Leadership System: Save your HR or executive team time, energy, and effort while transforming managers into effective leaders. This comprehensive program includes virtual or in-person instructor-led training, a Leadership Growth Plan, and group coaching to ensure real-world mastery.

3. Executive Coaching: Work 1-on-1 with me or one of our certified coaches to achieve your goals, strengthen critical skills, and address your most pressing challenges. This 6-month program focuses on mindset and execution for tangible, lasting outcomes.

4. Catalyst for Growth: Invest in your high-potential talent. This personal and professional development program boosts retention, performance, and leadership skills—ultimately creating a pipeline of future leaders.
   

That’s It For Today!