I was reminded of this sage advice while reading a recent article in Harvard Business Review about James Rogers’ experience interviewing for the job of CEO of Public Service Indiana (now Duke Energy), which had just taken a $2.7 billion loss on a half-constructed nuclear plant.
He spent a week preparing for his job interview with the board of directors, and drafted a plan that he called “100 days of listening.” His idea was to meet with the company’s many stakeholders before taking any action as CEO.
The purpose of the plan was to…
- identify the key issues
- set priorities
- identify whom he could trust and…
- start repairing and rebuilding strategic relationships.
Here’s the result in his own words:
“The other candidates had far more industry and leadership experience, but none of them came prepared with a plan. I was given the job.”
The Person With A Plan is one of Keith Drury’s Leadership Strategetics ©. The idea is simple: Leaders who have a plan are much more likely to get what they want in organizations! This is true because higher-ups have an affinity for leaders who take the initiative to create thoughtful plans. How do you apply this principle in your leadership?
1. WHEN YOU APPLY FOR A JOB (or a promotion)… HAVE A PLAN for what you would do in the first 3 to 6 months to…
- solve nagging problems
- move your team forward
- achieve key objectives and…
- obtain measurable results.
2. WHEN YOU ARE SOLVING PROBLEMS… HAVE A PLAN to present to your boss—for gaining approval, support, and even your boss’s additional ideas to improve and refine your plan.
Up Close and Personal
One of my executive coaching clients complained about the oppressive workload she and her team were struggling with. “It’s too much for us!” she railed, “and it’s draining our energy and our morale. I don’t know what to do about it.” I advised her, “Your boss is relying on you to keep him informed about the issues you’re dealing with. He needs to know what’s happening.” But I cautioned her, “You don’t want to be perceived as a whining complainer who can’t handle her job.”
I recommended to her what I recommend to ALL of my management students and clients. I told her…
Never present a problem to your boss without also presenting at least 3 viable solutions.
We then brainstormed 3 different approaches to addressing the issue. One was to simply expand her team with an additional staff member (at a time when there was a company freeze on hiring); the second was to authorize her to spend money on temps (when expenditures were under intense scrutiny and criticism); the third (his ultimate choice) was to shift a portion of the workload to another team in the organization (which actually made sense…since some of the work her team was doing more LOGICALLY belonged to another department).
Once again, the person with a plan is more likely to get what they want!
3. WHEN YOU ARE ASKING FOR ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT, RESOURCES, AND APPROVAL for one of your initiatives… HAVE A PLAN that shows you have done your homework and given thoughtful analysis that will gain the confidence of colleagues and higher-ups.
4. WHEN YOU ARE RESPONDING TO A NEGATIVE PERFORMANCE REVIEW or even inaccurate perceptions of you and your work… HAVE A PLAN to address the issues constructively and repair your reputation.
5. WHEN YOU ARE PITCHING YOUR COMPANY’S PRODUCTS OR SERVICES to clients… HAVE A PLAN that will demonstrate how you will help them solve their problems; gain value and benefit; and increase their profits!
Whenever you tackle any key initiative, problem, objective, goal, program, or process…
DEVISE A PLAN!
And if you are looking for help to train and develop your leaders, teams, employees, and executives… call us! WE WILL CREATE A PLAN FOR YOU that will help you engage your people; improve employee morale; lower turnover; and raise productivity!
Above all… STAY TUNED for more helpful ideas in upcoming posts!
Until next time… Yours for better leaders and better organizations,
Dr. Jim Dyke – “The Boss Doctor” ™ helping you to BE a better boss and to HAVE a better boss!
