“You talk a good game, but I’m watching how you play.” Unknown
I started my career in 1998 at Hormel Foods Corporation. At that time, I listened to a lot of people. I took instructions from managers and colleagues, listened to advice and tried to understand industry terminology along the way. There were a lot of words and acronyms to absorb.
Eventually all those words lead to actions. Making sales calls, completing call reports, attending resets in grocery stores, and negotiating circular promotions with “mom and pop” grocery shops. Featuring the benefits of the SPAM and Hormel Chili brands to grocery store buyers. Some days, it was action after action. Checking off my list of “to-do’s”; back then I was naïve enough to believe that the actions were enough. Actions would accomplish the end goal and justify the consideration for my next promotion.
It took a number of years and effort to realize that just listing out and completing actions would not lead to results. Without results, the actions are all a waste of time.
A friend recently asked for advice on managing a sales representative that was not delivering on their profit goals. She shared that in every conversation she would send a list of agenda items she wanted her employee to cover and instead he would come to the meeting with a list of everything he had done in the past week. A list of actions he had taken, items he had completed, meetings he had attended. The manager could not figure out how to get across to this employee that the actions did not truly matter if there were no results.
I am just as guilty sometimes of getting sucked into the day in and day out list of actions that need to be completed. Many times, they are actions that a company requires and ultimately will never lead to any financial results. The paperwork trails, the conference calls that I don’t need to be on, the volunteer task forces and the checking of other peoples work for accuracy and timeliness. The examples go on and on.
I have to pull myself out of the quicksand and reestablish my time and efforts. Challenge my team to focus on results from their actions instead of actions that will “hopefully” lead to results…. “Hope is not a strategy”.
For the manager friend that was struggling to get her employee to focus on results, I advised her to use a strategy I had used with a similar situation. Every time she got on their scheduled calls, the requirements would be made very clear that the discussion on this particular call would only be for recapping results achieved and how to duplicate those results with other accounts. Every time the employee deviated from discussing a result, she would remind them that this call was only for result discussions. In my case when I used this strategy, the employee became quickly aware that their list of actions were not leading to any results. The phone calls got shorter and shorter until they no longer existed and the employee ultimately moved into a different position that was a better fit.
My friend reported that she had better luck than I did. By focusing on results and not actions, she has at least been successful at getting the employee to focus on what matters now. It will take a bit longer to determine if real results can be achieved.
As you and your employees continue to work through the never ending day to day “to do” lists, be sure to schedule time to review and reiterate the importance of achieving results through their actions. An employee that does not generate results will get exhausted running in place while everyone else is celebrating at the finish line.
Managing in the Middle:
- Do a strategic and methodical review of your current commitments. Prioritize your time commitments to make sure you have space for actions that will lead to results. Not just the daily “to do’s” that get crossed off your list.
- Set aside time for brainstorming result sessions with both yourself and your employees. Start with the result you are looking to achieve and back up the actions needed for the desired result from there.
- As a manager, reinforce results. We all get sucked into the day-to-day action items. Good leaders need to pull employees out of the dark hole of endless actions and keep the spotlight on the results.
The Heart of the Middle 