What Is Success?

Back in the office, it was apparent from the smiles, laughter, and banter that morale was on the upswing. Debbie was hopeful that performance would follow. She was still listening as much as possible. She was still actively looking for little ways to serve her team. She was delegating more often, and that allowed her more time to think about the future. She was scouting for talent, rather than just waiting for HR to send her warm bodies. She was investing more time in the interview process, and she was working purposefully to engage the hearts and heads of her people.

At times, it all seemed overwhelming. But in her heart Debbie knew that she was just laying the foundation for bigger and better things. As she prepared for the upcoming team meeting, she really wanted to engage the team in Reinventing Continuously. So she sent an e-mail.

Send to:    Team 7

From:        Debbie

Subject:     Upcoming Meeting

Date:          March 1

Action

Requested  See Below

As you prepare for our next team meeting, please try to identify at least one thing we currently do in this department that you believe we could eliminate with few or no ill consequences. If we are going to accomplish all that we discussed at our last meeting, we must eliminate anything that is not adding significant value to our customers, our team, or our organization. I look forward to hearing your ideas!

This should get the reinvention wheels turning, she thought. And it did.

Debbie began the meeting by introducing the idea of Reinventing Continuously. She challenged the group to begin immediately to eliminate work that had diminished in value. She committed her best efforts to help them improve the work process to make things better, faster, and lower in cost to the organization.

People were reluctant to share in the beginning, because they were still suspicious about Debbie’s motives. But slowly, one after another, the team members began to offer their ideas. Glenda suggested eliminating one of the monthly reports she produced. She said she wasn’t sure how many people used it, and besides, everyone had the information on his or her laptop computer. When Debbie asked the group what they thought, people agreed. Most did not use the report, and the few that did said they had never thought about the data being available on their laptops.

In an attempt to manage people’s expectations and minimize disappointment, Debbie explained that while it might not be possible for every idea to be adopted, the discussion would still be very healthy. By the end of the meeting, the group had accepted seven of the dozen ideas that had been shared.

Next, they moved on to discussions about the upcoming year. Debbie took a blank sheet of flip chart paper and hung it on the wall. “This is the current state of our plan for the year,” Debbie said.

Charles commented, “It’s blank.”

“Yes, and that’s the whole point! We get to create a plan that will help us reach our goals of creating raving fan customers of our sales folks and clients—starting with a blank sheet.”

That led to a very productive debate about goals, strategies, and tactics. The question that seemed to inspire the most energy was “What will we need to do differently to significantly improve our service next year?”

After the meeting, Debbie had individual conversations with members of the team about their current work and the upcoming year. Many of these conversations led to improvements in the department. Several team members asked Debbie whether a portion of the next planning meeting could be devoted to solving some current work issues. She thought that was a wonderful idea. She had been so focused on the future, she had forgotten about letting the team manage the present. Debbie remembered the Heads Up–Heads Down discussion with Jeff. She quickly amended the next meeting agenda to include time to work on current issues.

Before Debbie knew it, it was time again for her meeting with Jeff. She looked forward to telling him how her team had begun to reinvent their work by eliminating things that didn’t add value. She also wanted to tell him about Jill, who was going to join her team in a few days.

When Debbie arrived at Jeff’s office, he had several stacks of computer printouts spread out on his table.

“What are you working on this morning?” Debbie asked with a smile.

“I’m just trying to stay in touch with the performance of the various units,” Jeff said. “I notice your team’s performance has improved.”

“Yes, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

“Congratulations on your progress. I think it ties in nicely with what we’re going to talk about today.”

“Are we going to address the V?” Debbie asked.

“Yes, we are. Today we’re going to talk about success.”

“Success?” Debbie looked puzzled. “Help me connect success with a V.”

“These days, many people are confused about what success is. This is often fueled by everyone’s desire to see quarterly earnings. Don’t get me wrong—earnings are absolutely essential. But I think there is more to success than that.”

“What do earnings and success have to do with the V ?”

Jeff turned and wrote on the whiteboard.

“The V stands for Value Results and Relationships,” he explained. “Great leaders—those who lead at a higher level—do both. Both are critical to long-term survival. Not either/or but both/and. For too long, many leaders have felt that they had to choose. Most corporate leaders have said it’s all about results. In reality, there are two tests of a leader. Do they get results? And do they have followers? By the way, if you don’t have followers, it’s very hard to get long-term results.

Profits and financial strength are the applause we get for a job well done.

“The way to maximize your results as a leader is to have high expectations for both results and relationships. If we can take care of our customers and create a motivating working environment for our people, profits and financial strength are the applause we get for a job well done. You see, success is both results and relationships. It’s a proven formula.”

Debbie nodded in agreement.

“Debbie, I saw on your application that you played on a highly competitive volleyball team in college.”

“Yes, we made it to the national tournament twice.”

Jeff could hear the pride in her voice. “Who was your coach?”

“Joan Hammond.”

“I don’t know her, but I bet I can tell you something about Ms. Hammond. She expected results, and you had a good relationship with her, didn’t you?”

Debbie beamed. “You’re right. She was very demanding, and we knew we were supposed to produce results. But we loved her, too.”

“For your team to be as good as you obviously were, it is highly probable that Ms. Hammond was an outstanding leader. Leaders of her caliber provide both challenge and support. They expect results and have very good relationships with those they wish to lead.”

“We would do whatever she asked us to do. We trusted her leadership. But that was just a sport. As a leader in the business world, how do I demonstrate that I Value Results and Relationships?” Debbie asked.

“The same way Ms. Hammond did. How did you know she valued results?”

“There were a lot of ways, I guess. I never really thought about it. She had high expectations, and we had clear goals. There was a high level of accountability, and we worked hard to solve the problems that were negatively affecting our performance. Plus, we had great parties to celebrate our successes.”

“Exactly! Your coach knew that all these things communicated clearly that she valued results.”

“Those are things I already do to some degree, but I can certainly improve in each of those areas,” Debbie admitted.

“How about on the relationship side? How did you know that she valued relationships?”

As Debbie began to offer her thoughts, Jeff wrote them on the whiteboard.

“Ms. Hammond was a great listener,” Debbie noted.

“Good, what else?” Jeff prodded.

“She always seemed to make time for us. She cared deeply about each of us as individuals. She also appreciated our efforts.”

“So she accentuated the positive?” Jeff asked.

“Yes. I’ve heard it described as ‘catching people doing things right.’”

“Anything else?”

“Probably, but those are the things that come immediately to mind.” When Jeff finished writing, they looked at Debbie’s list:

“That’s a good list,” Jeff said. “It probably covers the basics of what a good relationship involves. However, there’s one important thing to keep in mind as you work to build and nurture significant relationships. Although we all have a lot in common, people are different. Each person has his or her own personality and temperament. Building meaningful relationships can never be reduced to a checklist of activities. If your heart is right and your motives are valid, most people will meet you halfway when establishing relationships. It’s one more thing you, as a leader, must always be aware of.

“Valuing relationships is important,” Jeff continued. “John Maxwell says that ‘people will not give you their hand until they can see your heart.’ This will require your ongoing attention.”

“People will not give you their hand until they can see your heart.” —John Maxwell

“I’m willing to give it my best effort,” said Debbie.

“Great! I’d like to suggest some questions for you to think about that pertain to today’s topic.”

• How much emphasis do you place on getting results?

• How many of your people would say that you have made a significant investment in their lives?

• What are the ways you have expressed appreciation for work well done in the last thirty days?

Debbie was both enthusiastic and grateful. “Once again, Jeff, you’ve stretched my thinking.”

“I’m glad! Call me if there’s any way I can help you before our next meeting.”