Mindful and deliberate actions for leading your team and encouraging the desired growth are crucial. Left to their own devices, organizations tend to lose focus, become entangled in unnecessary complexities, and slow down. Yet when I ask leaders about their current gardening or coaching priorities, many respond with blank stares. Let’s fix that.
In this article, we will go over a short “menu” of possible interventions and focus areas you can consider for the improvement of your org. Each can be chosen separately, and while I don’t recommend kicking off too many of these concurrently, most teams will benefit from each of these getting some attention from time to time.
Avoid Overshadowing
I recently talked to a leader who cannot bring himself to stop “saving the day.” Always focusing on saving every single hour and moving everything forward at any given moment, he has his hands in everything. Asked what would happen if he were to stop doing it for a few days, he speculated the team’s output would collapse by more than 50%.
That’s not helping your team; that’s overshadowing them. Whereas you’re there, all tall and basking in the sunlight as you’re pushing features out, all those in your shadow cannot grow as well. This isn’t just about leaders, but anyone with a “hero syndrome” must realize the long-term harm. Let others reach the light.
Weeding
As time passes, things get cluttered. Our calendars have vestigial recurring meetings that we continue going to like zombies. Processes that got overly complex. Old ways of doing things that are no longer necessary.
It’s necessary that you deliberately review these things from time to time and remove what no longer makes sense. This is not something that you can do every day, but I’ve seen teams benefit from brainstorming it every quarter or so. I recommend asking the team to start writing down things that bog them down about 1-2 weeks before the brainstorming session.
Embrace Seasons
Some people really want to do everything all at once. However, that’s rarely how things really work out in real life. Teams usually benefit from having the ability to focus on 1-2 priorities and then move on to the next thing.
Whereas in software, our seasons don’t have to span months, having focus periods for an iteration or two often boosts productivity considerably. Make the tough choice of prioritizing tasks and changes that you want to make and see them to completion (or at least enough that they gain momentum) before adding another issue to your plate.
Water Properly
In our last home, before moving to Rome, we had a yard. In it, some plants kept getting yellow on their leaves, but only in a certain spot in the yard. I later realized it was the spot my kids would pass by and empty their water bottles on. It was the easiest place to do so, and while they thought they were doing the right thing, they overwatered those plants.
The equivalent I see in teams is when we let the same person take certain tasks because that’s easier. Johnny already knows that system. Sara is great at communicating with Product. However, that often results in burnout and single points of failure. Review where the organization might be growing dependent on a single person or a couple due to these “reflex assignments” and start prioritizing growth.
Fertilize
Similarly, when we just let things grow on their own, we regularly see areas that succeed more than others. You’ll see those ICs who are so autonomous that they always find opportunities to learn and improve, and would do great in any company and position. Nevertheless, most of your employees will benefit from a bit (or more) of a push in the form of coaching and support.
Coaching is a must, and a good framework can make all the difference. You and all the managers in your organization should be following a process to ensure each person is moving along and not just the “naturals.” You can get a copy of my impact coaching framework ebook by signing up for my free upcoming livestream here.
Biodiversity
Personally, I don’t like gardens that seem too “engineered,” but that’s a matter of taste. Whereas in teams, that’s almost always a mistake. Think about companies that still work in functional teams, grouping engineers by programming languages.
For a robust, effective, and fast-moving team, I recommend making it diverse and cross-functional. Having the ability to deliver work end-to-end in a single team can make all the difference in the world.
Harvest-First Thinking
Lastly, it’s important to think about what you’d like to get out of the whole ordeal. When we look at the inputs, we might focus on the types of trees we plant and the efforts required to do so, without realizing that what matters first of all is what you’d like to achieve. Are you looking for lots of fruit? Do you want one big harvest in one season or have something available throughout the year?
The same goes with effective organizations. There’s a clear need to think about things strategically, considering results first. Not doing that means that you’ll end up building the wrong team and be busy spinning your wheels without much to show for it. Think about the type of company you’re building, the results you’re after, and then work backwards to the right team to achieve that. Be a mindful, deliberate, and proactive leader. Life’s too short to lead a mediocre team!