Three Things That Leaders Need to Focus on Each Week

I met with a Director about the results of a leadership assessment that she recently completed which included direct feedback from her peers, direct reports and management. In that conversation, we also talked about the feedback that her manager had shared with her… she wasn’t communicating or acting like a Director.

She was obviously concerned about the feedback and couldn’t understand what she needed to do differently. We talked about what she was focused on and she shared some of the things that she had spent her time on this past week.

What she couldn’t see yet and what was quickly clear to me is that her manager was right. She is trying to do everything herself and isn’t focused on the right things as a Director. Here is a summation:

• Attending meetings that she didn’t need to be in.

• Making assumptions without asking for clarification first and causing rework for herself and her team.

• Doing the work of her team instead of holding them accountable.

• Blaming her team and her boss instead of taking responsibility.

• Focused on speed and not quality which is leading to issues.

As I asked more questions, I realized that this is a pattern for her. She had done these same things at her previous company and this pattern needed to be disrupted if she was going to be successful. We talked about some of the key areas of focus that she would need to prioritize each week.

Below is a list of the top three things to focus on:

• Think and Plan: 
  • Create space in your calendar by declining or delegating meetings that you don’t need to attend.
  • Hold time on your calendar to plan out your week, schedule influencing conversations and check ins with your team.
  • Use the time to build strategies, presentations or think about the best way to position upcoming conversations.
  • Review goals, objectives and project deliverables that your team is working on to ensure things are on track.

• Develop the Team and Deliver Results:
  • Coach, guide and set expectations for the team to follow.
  • Have consistent 1:1s and staff meetings to discuss projects and their development.
  • Hold the team accountable for their work and check in on progress.
  • Review your team’s workload capacity, help prioritize if there are urgent requests and delegate new projects to help the team learn and grow.

• Build Influence and Increase Visibility:
  • Meet with your manager to share key updates, align on work, gain insights on their perspective, and talk about how your team is doing.
  • Meet with influential leaders to build relationships, offer value and share what you (and your team if you have one) are doing.
  • Speak up in meetings, present in front of leaders to show your capabilities and find ways to share your accomplishments during conversations.
  • Mentor someone or get involved in an employee resource group to increase your influence.

This shift in focus is what every leader goes through as they take on bigger roles with higher expectations placed on them. What used to work for them will no longer work anymore and a shift has to be made. Their to do list isn’t a list of tasks anymore, it is a list of things to think about, plan and strategize.

Where could you implement a stronger focus in one of these areas?