4 Ways to Be More Effective at Execution

On the first point, bosses place a premium on execution, which we define as the ability to achieve individual goals and objectives. In fact, ... Youhave1freearticlesleftthismonth. Youarereadingyourlastfreearticleforthismonth. Subscribeforunlimitedaccess. Createanaccounttoread2more. Leadingteams 4WaystoBeMoreEffectiveatExecution It’sthethingyourbossmostwantsfromyou. by JackZenger and JosephFolkman by JackZenger and JosephFolkman May23,2016 Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print Leerenespañol Leremportuguês Mostpeoplerecognizethatexecutionisacriticalskillandstrivetoperformitwell,buttheymaya)underestimatehowimportantitistotheircareeradvancementorb)notrealizethatyoucanimproveonexecutionwithoutworkinglongerhours. Onthefirstpoint,bossesplaceapremiumonexecution,whichwedefineastheabilitytoachieveindividualgoalsandobjectives.Infact,whenweaskedseniormanagerstoindicatetheimportanceofthisability,theyrankeditfirstonalistof16skills.Otherratersintheorganizationrankeditfourth,behindinspiringandmotivating,havingintegrityandhonesty,andproblemsolving.Werecognizethattherearemanypartsofyourjobthatareimportant,butifyouwanttomoveaheadinyourcareer,itmightbetimetodoubledownonsimplygettingmorestuffdone–it’swhatyourbosswantstosee. Whichbringsustothesecondpoint.Manymanagersreactwithdefensivenessordespairtothisnews;afterall,mostofthemanagersweknowalreadyfeellikethey’vegottoomuchtodo.Peoplewhoarelethargic,slow,orunfocusedarerarely(atleastinourexperience)promotedtouppermanagementpositions.Theleadersweknowalreadyworkhardandlong–andworkingharderandlongerisnotaviableoption.Intheshorttermthistypicallyyieldsimprovedresults,butinthelongterm leadersburnout.Andifthey’vepushedtheirteamstodothesame,teammembersquit. Butourdata–gleanedfromtensofthousandsof360-degreeperformancereviews—tellsusthattherearemoresustainablemethodsofimprovingexecution.Welookedatthousandsofleaderswhowereratedasbeinghighlyeffectiveatexecutionandlookedforthecoincidingbehaviorsthatenabledthisskill.Wefoundasetofbehaviorsthatimproveexecution.Fourbehaviorsinparticularstoodout: Beclearandmethodical Manypeoplewhoareenergeticaboutexecutiontendtojumpintoactivitiesandtakeactionbeforetheygetorganized,createaplan,orconnectwhatthey’redoingtothestrategyoftheorganization.Havingthedisciplinetoorganizepeople,assembleresources,andthengenerateaplanthatotherscancommittowillcollectivelyimproveexecution.Sowillmakingclearwhoisdoingwhat;wehavelearnedthatwheneveryoneiscollectivelyresponsible,thatnooneisresponsible.Providingotherswithcleardirectionandasenseofconnectiontothestrategyoftheorganizationhelpspeopleunderstandhowtheworktheyaredoingdovetailswiththeorganization’smission. Ifyouarequicktojumpintoactionandtendtostartprojectwithoutawell-organizedplanofattack,orifyougetfeedbackonyourlackofplanningandorganization,thissuggestionmightbeonetofocuson.Anindividualcontributormightbeabletogetawaywithbeingdisorganized,butitrarelyworksoutwellattheseniormanagementlevel. Setstretchgoalsanddeadlines Settingstretchgoalshelpsthegroupachievetheirobjectivesandgeneratesgreaterengagementandsatisfactioninteammembers.Topushthegrouptoachievethosegoals,pairthemwithdeadlines.Whilewemaynotlikeit,whensomeonegivesusadeadline,ourbehaviorchanges.Simplysettingdeadlinesforgoalsandobjectivesgoesalongwaytowardachievingthosegoalsandobjectives!Ifyouresistsettingstretchgoalsforyourteam,startbyaskingyourteamquestionslike,“Whatwouldittaketoaccomplishedthisgoaltwoweeksearlier?”Wefindthatbychallengingyourteamandsupportingtheminaccomplishingadifficultgoal,teammembersactuallyfeelmoreengagedandsatisfiedwiththeirjobs. Thisarticlealsoappearsin: HBRGuidetoManagingStrategicInitiatives Strategy&Execution Book 19.95 AddtoCart Save Share Butdon’tgooverboard;we’vealsofoundthattoomuchpushingcanerodetrust,whichwillhurtexecutioninthelongrun.Whenanuntrustedleaderasksforadditionaleffort,peoplequestiontheirmotivesandresisttheirrequests.Moreover,involvingyourteamintheprocessofsettinggoalsdeadlineswillincreasetheirsenseofcommitmentandautonomy. Givemorefeedback,especiallymorepositivefeedback Thisisallaboutimprovingexecutionthroughintrinsicmotivation,ratherthanthroughgoalsanddeadlines.Leaderswhoaregreatexecutorsareskilledatgivingfeedback.Specifically,theleaderswhoratemosthighlyarethosewhodelivercriticalfeedbackbytakingthetimetolistentoandunderstandtheiremployees’perspectives,ratherthansimplydroppingadifficultmessageonsomeoneandendingtheconversationasquicklyaspossible. Butwherewereallysawamajordifferencewaswithpositivefeedback.Specifically,wefoundthatleaderswhoaregreatatexecutiongivealotmorepositiverecognition.Ourresearchindicatesthatwhilegivingalittlemorerecognitiondidnotaffectexecution,beingabovethe65thpercentileonthisskillhadamajorimpact. Resolveconflictandbuildteamunity Haveyoueverbeenpartofateamsogreatthatyoulovecomingtowork?Teamslikethisprobablydoallormostoftheabove–workassignmentsareclearandprocessesmakesense,deadlinesareambitiousbutfair,andfeedbackisplentiful–buttheyalsodosomethingmore.Ontheseteams,it’snotjustthebossmotivatingteammembers—theexpectationsofpeerteammembersarepowerfulmotivators,too.Creatingthiskindofteamcultureisanimportantelementofgoodexecution.Whilethere’salotthatgoesintobuildinghigh-performanceteams,inourexperience,perhapsthebiggestsinglethingforleaderstofocusonisresolvingconflict.That’sbecausemanyoftheproblemswithinateamcomefromdifferencesandconflictbetweenteammembers;onhigh-performingteams,teammemberstrusteachotherandconflictisconstructive,notdestructiveorpersonal. Asyouthinkaboutyourabilitytoexecutewefeelthatallfourofthesedimensionsarecritical.Youmayfocusononeortwoandfindthatoneislacking.Butourresearchshowsthatbalancingallfourofthesefactorsisthestrategythatwillimproveexecutionmostofall. Finally,ifyou’vemadeitthisfarandyoureallyfeellikeyou’realreadydoingallofthesethings,andyetsomehowyou’restillperceivedashavingan“executionproblem,”considerthis:inourresearch,wealsofoundthatthere’salmostaone-to-onerelationshipbetweenleaderswhoareseenasfast,andthosewhoareseenasgreatexecutors.Previousworkwe’vedonehasshownthatsomeoftheabovethings–settingstretchgoals,havingclearprocessesinplace,andbuildingtrust,forexample–willhelpyoumovefaster.Butyoumayalsoneedtogiveyourpeersandbossesmoreevidenceofyourspeedby,forexample,beingmoretransparentabouthowmanyprojectsyou’reworkingonandwheretheyareinyourpipeline. HBRLearning TeamManagementCourse AccelerateyourcareerwithHarvardManageMentor®.HBRLearning’sonlineleadershiptraininghelpsyouhoneyourskillswithcourseslikeTeamManagement.EarnbadgestoshareonLinkedInandyourresume.Accessmorethan40coursestrustedbyFortune500companies.Freeforalimitedtime! Buildabetterteamandachievemoreofwhatmatters. StartCourse LearnMore&SeeAllCourses ReadmoreonLeadingteams orrelatedtopic Personalproductivity JackZengeristheCEOofZenger/Folkman,aleadershipdevelopmentconsultancy.HeisacoauthoroftheOctober2011HBRarticle“MakingYourselfIndispensable”andthebook TheNewExtraordinaryLeader:TurningGoodManagersintoGreatLeaders (McGrawHill,2019). ConnectwithJackonLinkedIn. JosephFolkmanisthepresidentof Zenger/Folkman,aleadershipdevelopmentconsultancy.HeisacoauthoroftheOctober2011HBRarticle“MakingYourselfIndispensable”andthebookTheTrifectaofTrust:TheProvenFormulaforBuildingandRestoringTrust (RiverGrove,2022). ConnectwithJoeonLinkedIn.   Tweet Post Share Save GetPDF BuyCopies Print new HBRLearning TeamManagementCourse AccelerateyourcareerwithHarvardManageMentor®.HBRLearning’sonlineleadershiptraininghelpsyouhoneyourskillswithcourseslikeTeamManagement.EarnbadgestoshareonLinkedInandyourresume.Accessmorethan40coursestrustedbyFortune500companies.Freeforalimitedtime! Buildabetterteamandachievemoreofwhatmatters. 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