For many managers remote working has highlighted the transactional nature of the relationships they have with their people. It is entirely possible to work next to, or even with, somebody every day for years without ever really getting to know him or developing a genuine concern for his welfare.
Leaders can choose to make targets or make standards what they focus on and prioritise in a crisis. They can also elect to change (raise or lower) the targets and/or standards, or leave them unchanged.
Legitimate Leadership believes that goals/targets/metrics are important, but as a means not an end. Firstly, they provide the context within which to define the contributions that need to be made – if you…
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Question of the Month
By Wendy Lambourne, Director, Legitimate Leadership.
Question: What should a Legitimate Leadership intervention deliver?
Answer: Our standard answer is that it should deliver an organization characterised by legitimacy, trust, contribution and accountability – all of which then impacts on the results.
However here are two more developed characterisations:
That those in leadership roles will be able to answer ‘yes’ to the following:
Should the leader move on would his/her direct reports like (which doesn’t mean they will in fact) to go with him/her because of the benefits in terms of care and growth that they have experienced in their reporting relationship with him/her?
Should the person move on, is there is a successor from within (or as someone expressed it when they were promoted into their ex-manager’s role ‘he made me’).
That those in the frontline of the business will be able to answer ‘yes’ to the following:
They are able to articulate what they are willing and able to deliver which is of value-add and for which they would like to be held accountable.
They are asking their manager to come and view what they have delivered because they are proud of the quality of their work.
ARTICLE: LEADING REMOTELY? STAY CONNECTED BY BEING SINCERE, DELIBERATE AND COURAGEOUS
By Ian Munro, Director, Legitimate Leadership.
“How do I stay connected to my people when they’re working remotely?”
“How can I show people that I care without seeming like I’m prying?”
These are questions that have been raised repeatedly by managers grappling with remote leadership for the first time. The answer to neither question is simple – relationships are, after all, complex by their nature. But the following points are worth bearing in mind as we work to build and maintain our own relationships with our direct reports remotely:
It’s not only possible to maintain relationships at a distance but many people have, in fact, reported improving their relationships while their teams have been working remotely.
ARTICLE: LEADING REMOTELY? STAY CONNECTED BY BEING SINCERE, DELIBERATE AND COURAGEOUS
By Wendy Lambourne, Director, Legitimate Leadership.
Leaders can choose to make targets or make standards what they focus on and prioritise in a crisis. They can also elect to change (raise or lower) the targets and/or standards, or leave them unchanged. The choices they make are important because they have a significant bearing on whether those they lead thrive or not in difficult times.
Leaders should focus on standards, not targets, in a crisis. They should raise standards, not targets, in difficult times.
CHOICE ONE: WHAT TO FOCUS ON AND PRIORITISE IN A CRISIS
VIDEO: THE PURPOSE OF A COMPANY IS NOT TO MAKE MONEY
By Simon Sinek, American author on leadership, and motivational speaker.
COMMENT ON THIS VIDEO BY WENDY LAMBOURNE, LEGITIMATE LEADERSHIP: Legitimate Leadership believes that goals/targets/metrics are important, but as a means not an end. Firstly, they provide the context within which to define the contributions that need to be made – if you don’t know where you want to get to, any place will do. Secondly, the scoreboard is useful in terms of feedback – are you making enough of a contribution, or the right contributions, to achieve the results? If the results are not eventuating, do something different!
The purpose of a company is to add value to the customer, not to increase returns on investment for the shareholders. When companies succeed in serving the customer, there is a place in the sun for everyone, including the shareholders. Profits provide the means which allow a company to serve. Like the results, they are a means, not an end.
OUR SUMMARY OF THIS VIDEO: We are tangibly-driven animals. Metrics and targets and goals are important to us. That is a good thing. Abstract is not good – it doesn’t let you know if it hasn’t worked. You can’t run a marathon with no mile markers. We need to know and be able to measure progress.
But we have to understand the role that metrics play. Metrics help us understand speed and distance, but they’re not absolutes.
The problem is when they become absolutes – for example when somebody gives us a goal and says, ‘If you hit this target you will get a bonus.’
