Leadership An essential and increasingly scarce ability to:
- Model an Inspiring Vision
- Magnetize a Capable, Willing Team
- Motivate Required Action
- Manage Resources and Diversity
- Maintain Constant Focus
- Make It To The Goal Line.
The six part series will explore each of these in detail discuss the skill and practices necessary for this powerful tool to distinguish and energize your organization. Leadership: Part 6 of 6 Make It To the Goal Line Despite the best of intentions, many projects never actually see full completion.
They get started well and producing benefits and results, but never actually realize their full potential. This happens for a couple of reasons. Sometimes the shape or scope of the project changes along the way because of new information or changing requirements. If this change is managed effectively, the project scope actually changes definition, the requirements are reviewed and the project is then completed only in a different form than initially envisioned.
Usually what happens if these changes are significant is that the project just loses momentum and eventually stagnates on the shelf with the rest of the half done work. Scrapping a project or shelving it for a while is perfectly appropriate if that decision is intentional and made with the clear new objectives in mind.
This kind of clear decision-making is rarely what happens. Instead, a company or department creates a practice of letting things simply fade away. This is a very poor practice as it affects morale and productivity. People have the impression that projects or initiatives are not to be taken seriously.
If a project needs to be changed or scrapped, a formal and official decision needs to be made, team members need to be informed and the new scope or the termination needs to be clear and obvious. In the case of a scrapped project, team members must clearly understand the reasons for the termination and they also need to understand that it was not their fault and they bear no responsibility for the decision unless there was a clear failing on the part of the team.
In the case of a clear failing that needs to be made public also and appropriate changes need to be intentionally and publicly made in the processes of the company to make sure this does not get repeated. The second reason is that as a project progresses, unless it is well-managed, it loses its special status as a ͞new initiative͟ and becomes less intrinsically motivating.
This is purely a management issue and requires that the milestones and goals of a project be regularly reviewed, updated were required and the focus on deadlines and deliverables needs to be maintained. People love to be recognized and celebrated.
Celebration of large milestones is critical, reviewing timelines and tracking performance must be standard practice. If a project becomes delayed or late, timelines need to be officially adjusted so that people do not operate continually feeling ͞behind the eight ball.͟As a project nears the finish line, specific actions should be taken by leadership to increase the momentum and build anticipation for the celebration at the finish line.
If enthusiasm wanes and it feels like everyone is ͞running out of gas,͟ and simply coasting over the finish line, this is where cutting corners shows up and final quality checks often are overlooked. This becomes the final memory of the project in the minds of the participants. It is just barely finished, just barely good enough and there is a sigh of relief when it finally ͞rolls out the door.͟
This is practically a guarantee that the enthusiasm for the next project will be small and the volunteers few. Not a good situation when company survival in today͛s market depends on innovation, leveraging diverse talent and creating an enthusiastic and cooperative team atmosphere. Finish your work and projects in style. Anticipate completion with a bang and increase the excitement and pressure to have the work of the highest caliber and something to be proud of.
The approach to leadership outlined in these six articles will provide a foundation to create loyalty and excellence in performance among those critical human resources you manage. Kellan Fluckiger is a seasoned executive with more than 30 years͛ experience at the C-suite level in multiple countries around the globe. He currently consults as a business acceleration coach and mentor.
Contact information: CoachKellanFluckiger@Gmail.com
Ph 480-274-8092Int͛l Ph 780-996-5195
