Leadership: what are you being paid to do?

Published: 2011-06-27 There are 14 comments ... please add yours below

You can lead better (and get promoted faster) if you understand what’s required

not just lazily doing more-of-the-same or imitating what other leaders do

Compared with your direct reports, how much bigger is your pay packet? If your employer segmented that premium across the leadership actions you take, how do you think it might be split? In simple terms, employers want you to achieve planned business outcomes. But to achieve these, your subordinates need your guidance and help in delivering them: the higher sales, lower costs, more timely deliveries and other improvements. If your team members (rather than your bosses) were the ones incentivising you, how would they split that extra pay you get as leader? To test this, why not allocate a percentage to each of the following six leadership actions. Once done, show your numbers to a couple of your team members and see what they say.

Defining the journey: what percentage of your time and effort would your team want you to spend sharpening everyone’s understanding of industry developments, refining the business model, setting goals and making plans? Write down the number.
Creating drive: would they want you more upfront in taking charge (or supporting others in doing this), increasing your time spent communicating, getting and allocating resources – or, creating fun and celebration when things go well? What’s their needed percentage here?
Establishing values: what’s their priority for you to be promoting the desire to win, taking tough decisions and driving accountability – all with fairness and compassion?
Setting benchmarks: how clear are people on metrics and what’s expected? How much do you need to lift efficiency or model best practice – in technical and/or commercial areas?
Organising everyone: do roles need to be clearer, teamwork improved or training increased? Do you need to engage people better and be more self-aware? What’s the percentage here?
Driving change: finally, what percent of your time will be needed to track changes in market and competitor behaviour and then plan how these will shift strategy and operating priorities; also, actions needed to address skill gaps arising from the new challenges?

Based on the percentages above, what are you going to change in terms of your leadership actions? Giving more focus to defining goals and outcomes, enthusing your team, lifting productivity or what? When you meet with one or two members of your team, are you going to really listen to their feedback – and act on it? Will you share the results with your bosses – so they can help you stay true to the new priorities?

My experience says that if you go through this process and act on the new priorities, you’ve got a much greater chance of your people achieving the outcomes required by the business plan. Their win will be your win. And, justify the premium you’re paid. In addition, you might get a bonus – and even promotion. One thing is sure: you and your team will work hugely better together.

The only thing a leader must have is followers. And, the first step in gaining their support is to find out what they need from you – that would, if delivered, justify your premium pay.

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" ... process is superb" Paul Sprokkreeff, CEO Web Profits Pty Ltd
www.webprofits.com.au

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®

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Comments (14)

- date: 2011/06/29 10:25 pm

Geoffrey D Dunstan - date: 2011/06/29 05:29 pm

You have not lost your touch nor insight. Well worth reading.

Wonderful to see you are still around - and if that photo has not been airbrushed you look in wonderful shape !!

Timothy Pascoe - date: 2011/06/28 10:28 pm

Dear Firdhaus,

Delighted that the ideas were of interest - particularly if they can lead to a better financial outcome!

As you say, most of us a striving to do our best, to make a difference and all too easily overlook the extent of what we are contributing.

Best wishes,

Timothy

Timothy Pascoe - date: 2011/06/28 10:24 pm

Dear John,

I'm not saying that those six suggestions are necessarily exhaustive. However, I've found that many leaders find them a good place to start.

As Langdon suggests, recruitment is certainly a tool for improving outcomes (if you have that option) but what if the challenges change and are no longer the ones against which you recruited your team. The six strategies give you and your team a way to think about how to adjust to the new ones.

Best wishes,

Timothy

Timothy Pascoe - date: 2011/06/28 10:18 pm

Dear Theresa,

The VECTOR Leadership tool is about planning your actions - not evaluation. It's used by the individual leader - though in some cases, the HR department may be the ones, who recommend it.

As previously, let me know if you're interested.

Timothy

Theresa Wang - date: 2011/06/28 03:32 pm

Hey! Firdaus Khan

If the issues you have encoutered in the company is belong to decentralized level, then I think the right thing to do is advise top management and tell them they are wrong. And tell them what should be the right organization or operating format and why, that eventually worked.

Firdaus Khan - date: 2011/06/28 01:57 pm

Hello Dr. T!
When I read your article it kinda begged me to press pause in my head & take an objective look at my work & my pay. (Apologies to Mr. Stevenson & Mr. Prpich - probably that's the view from the highest or higher echelons of decision making, but the perspective is very different from the mid / decentralized level!)

When you are passionate about what you do, you don't really track & measure all your input, consequently you under-price yourself....let's be real, aren't most of us struggling to do the best we can with the team we have, in terms of motivation, skills, ethics, etc?

So Dr. T. thank you for a better review model for my personal input-output system! Will surely help in my next parleys with the top management!!

Best wishes, always!

Langdon Stevenson - date: 2011/06/28 11:02 am

@John - you said ... "If leaders spent more time understanding how to select the best talent, they wouldn't need to spend as much time focusing on your list."

Which begs the question of: when all of the best (highly motivated, focussed, talented etc) employees have been taken, what do you do with the rest?

That is where Timothy's list becomes relevant. Call it Leadership Advice For The Rest of us (who don't have the option of building a team from scratch stocked with super motivated talented people).

John Prpich - date: 2011/06/28 08:08 am

Interesting article, thank you for sharing.
You've identified 6 important strategies, but I'm not certain that they are the 6 most important ones for a leader.
If your employees are passionate about what they do, you don't have to worry about defining the journey as you described it.
Creating drive isn't a leaders responsibility, it should be a part of your recruiting DNA, hire individuals with passion and stop wasting your time trying to motivate the unmotivated, there's no value in it.
Organizing everyone is not a leaders responsibility, asking the right questions tied to systems refinement is a much better use of a leaders time.
If leaders spent more time understanding how to select the best talent, they wouldn't need to spend as much time focusing on your list.

Theresa Wang - date: 2011/06/28 12:41 am

Wow...Timothy, our management thinking sparkles pinged unexpectedly random, but its so practically identical. Before I have tried other planning tool with focused in innovation/brand/new product planning. I would like to find a better other chance to introduce your planning tool. Is that focused in assessing leadership or performance, mainly utilized by HR function?

Best Regards
Theresa

Timothy Pascoe - date: 2011/06/28 12:13 am

Dear Theresa,

I like your use of the word "compass": an instrument for setting direction. That's the core intent of my Leadership Action Planning tool. To help leaders work out the best actions for them to take to address the concerns their followers may have about the journey ahead.

Have to you tried the planning tool? Do let me know if you would like to. It would be my pleasure to make it available to you.

Best wishes,

Timothy

Timothy Pascoe - date: 2011/06/28 12:08 am

Dear Phadke,

Very many thanks for your generous comment.

With best wishes for a successful and exciting week.

Timothy

Theresa Wang - date: 2011/06/27 09:06 pm

This is quite thought-provoking, and action compass for driving a more efficient leadership culture in company.

Phadke Subodhkumar Narayan - date: 2011/06/27 08:36 pm

My dearest Dr. Timothy Sir,

This is wonderful thought process that you shared. I thank you for the same.

I am taking my lessons and going to test on my own body. Trust me and I mean it.

Today, great learning, unlearning & relearning happened for me.

Thanking you,

Sincerely I remain,

Phadke S. N.

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Leadership: what are you being paid to do?

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