“How often do you check in with your team to find out how work for your customers is progressing?” is a question I commonly ask leaders that I’m coaching. “What do you mean, check in on how work is progressing? That’s not my job. My people are all adults and they know how to get things done. I don’t have to keep my eye on how they’re working, I just need to keep my ‘eyes on the prize’…the results!” Unfortunately, although common, this is backwards thinking. There are better, more effective and more efficient ways to work. It’s leadership’s job to help people create – and work in – those ways. And unless leaders are checking, people will tend to complete work in the way that seems best for them, and not necessarily the customer, or the business. As I often say, “What we spend our time on, is what we value”. So, if you – as a leader – aren’t regularly checking on the process by which work for your customers is being done, then why would following that process be important to your team? How we get there is as important as where we are going. Leaders need to keep their eyes on the process, as well as the prize!
