Implementer Posts
Why Your Accountability Chart® Has to Evolve as You Grow
I once worked with a leadership team that proudly showed me their Accountability Chart®. It looked good. Clean boxes. Clear lines. Names in the right places. Everyone nodded confidently when we looked at it. Then we started talking about what was actually happening in the business. The Visionary was still approving decisions that should have belonged to the leadership team. The Sales leader was still dabbling in marketing because “that’s how we’ve always done it.” Operations was accountable for delivery, but the Client Success team was the one constantly fixing problems after the fact. Finance owned the numbers, but no one was truly accountable for turning those numbers into better decisions. On paper, the structure looked fine. In real life, the business had outgrown it. That’s one of the most common things I see when working with entrepreneurial leadership teams. They build an Accountability Chart, get the initial clarity they
What Is the Difference Between a Process, a Procedure, a Policy, and an SOP?
A core process is the high-level flow of how work gets done. Usually a team has 5-10 core processes and they include items such as HR Marketing Sales Operations 1 Operations 2 Accounting A procedure is the specific steps inside one part of that process. A policy is a rule or boundary that governs behavior. It is usually not included in process work, but lives in a handbook. An SOP or standard operating procedure, is the detailed version of a procedure. In plain terms: the process is the what and the order, the procedure is the how, the policy is the must and must-not, and the SOP is the written record. I am a Certified EOS Implementer® in Denver and co-author of Process!, the official EOS book on the Process Component. Most teams do not need more policies. They need a few clear processes their people actually follow. Start with
The Best Leaders Speak Last
The leader answered. The team nodded. That was the whole pattern. Every issue, every decision — eyes swung to him, he weighed in, and the room agreed. Clean. Quick. Done. It looked like alignment. It wasn’t. I pulled him aside and told him what I was seeing. The team wasn’t thinking — they were waiting. Agreeing is not the same as buying in. If they never get heard, they never really own the answer. He sat with it. The next session, he stayed quiet. We pulled input from every seat. He waited until the team had wrestled with the issue before he said a word. What happened changed the room. The team produced a better answer than he would have. He said so himself. Here’s what I’ve learned. The leader who speaks first decides for the team — even when they don’t mean to. A strong voice pulls every other
Clear Pictures Create Clear Decisions
Clear Pictures Create Clear Decisions By Jordan Regas Have you ever tried putting together a puzzle only to realize there’s a missing piece? One time my wife and I were working on a puzzle and I started getting frustrated. When it comes to puzzling, my wife is the superior puzzler. I’m more of a “find the corners and edges” guy. And on this one, there was a corner piece I couldn’t find anywhere. I scoured the pile. I looked under my chair and under the table, convinced it had fallen. Finally, in a last-ditch effort, I checked the original bag of pieces—and sure enough, there it was. Sitting right in front of me the whole time. It wasn’t missing. It just wasn’t on the table. In his book, The Skilled Facilitator, Roger Schwarz introduces the concept of a group working together effectively as being similar to putting together a puzzle,
Trust the Process
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10 Ways to Level Up Your Level 10 Meeting
Adam Goldschmiedt Your weekly Level 10 Meeting is where your Leadership Team gains Traction. It’s your opportunity to review progress, solve Issues, and stay aligned as a team. But great Level 10 Meetings don’t happen by accident. They happen when you follow a simple set of disciplines and execute the meeting the way it was designed. Here are 10 ways to get the most out of your Level 10 Meeting. 1. Start on Time Starting on time sets the tone for discipline and accountability. When you consistently begin late, you send a message that the meeting and the team’s time aren’t a priority. Strong teams start on time. Every time. 2. End on Time Ending on time is just as important. It forces focus, keeps the meeting efficient, and builds trust with your team. When people know the meeting will end on time, they show up more prepared and engaged.