Setting Your Teams Up for Success

Effective Leadership Requires Delivering Executable Guidance

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

It’s undeniable that everyone on your team wants and deserves executable guidance.

I spent years in medical device sales, a career path I chose after leaving active-duty military service and opting to continue my military commitment as a reservist, which allowed me to launch a corporate career. This decision enabled me to take on various leadership roles at medical device manufacturers, where I executed tasks for my corporate employers and was rewarded for my ability to influence decision-making and achieve objectives that drove top-line revenue. However, I would be lying if I said it was done in isolation; I received significant support and, more importantly, had considerable guidance.

As I advanced through the ranks of the corporate ladder, I had the privilege of learning from an influential leader who would eventually become my boss: an experienced and poised vice president whom I trusted and respected. During our discussions on what separates mediocre sales teams from outstanding ones, she pinpointed one key competency, specifically a leadership competency: delivering executable guidance. More succinctly, it is the guidance that teams receive to effectively execute their goals and objectives as desired.

Thinking through the statement, it makes sense. Not just for sales teams, but for all teams. Leaders want to be placed in positions to deliver results, and their teams, whether they work independently or collaboratively, want to execute something. When there’s uncertainty about what to execute on, the guidance is either too vague or it’s not actual guidance. All teams want to know what the goal is, and all teams want guidelines for how to achieve it. Some guidelines are vaguer than others, and some teams require less and can do more with it. But the premise remains: no matter the team’s size, structure, talent level, or ability, without executable guidance, they’ll be rendered ineffective. Why? Because for guidance to be effective, it must be executable. Otherwise, how much value does the guidance really have towards mission accomplishment?

So how can you, as a leader, issue executable guidance? First, it must be specific. I recognize there are times when specificity may be difficult, but a degree of it is necessary to succeed here. It has to be relevant, or else you’ll lose engagement on the “why” factor. Therefore, it should be tied to a charter, mission statement, or annual agenda. It also must be realistic, or you’ll lose those who lack the faith, patience, and persistence to see it through. It’s okay to strive for stretch, but if you stretch too far, the tune-out factor will prevail. The executable guidance must also be organizationally appropriate. Just because something is good to do doesn’t mean it’s good for the team or organization in that moment or season, and it should align with organizational values. Lastly, it should be meaningful and fulfilling. When those executing find fulfillment in their work, their sense of accomplishment skyrockets, and their happiness, all things being equal, will improve. In other words, make it count for them.

Based on what you’ve read thus far, I challenge you to ask yourself, “How effective are you at communicating executable guidance?” Furthermore, if you’re in a leadership role of any kind, with as few as one person under your charge, you can count on the fact that your direct reports, employees, subordinates, or whatever your choice of wording is, don’t just want to know guidance; they also want to understand your priorities. Without them, smart leaders and teams recognize that they’ll fail to meet expectations.

And that leads to a broader, more important topic: Expectations.

How do you communicate your expectations? Let’s say you’ve just taken over a new team; how will you convey your non-negotiables to them? How will they know when to approach you, when not to approach you, when to ask for help, when to notify you, and when to leave you alone? How will they understand your operating principles and philosophy towards leadership competencies that are essential to teamwork and success? Ultimately, no contributor on any team can consistently deliver results without guidance, stemming from robust leadership foundations, and that starts with a well-crafted, thoughtful, and articulate personal leadership philosophy (PLP). By developing a strong PLP, you’ll not only show your team what you value but also who you are and why you do what you do — things that every team member wants to know.

A PLP can be as short as a single paragraph or extend over an entire page. Regardless of its size, it should communicate your definition of what leadership means to you, your values, operating principles, expectations, non-negotiables, priorities, your idiosyncrasies, and what you’ll personally commit to the team. By communicating these pillars of leadership upfront, you’ll set your team up for success and decrease the amount of ambiguity in their minds about where you stand on relevant topics while also providing them with implied guidance without having to say a word. Developing your PLP will also inherently set a standard; you’ll be teaching your reports what good looks like. Good leaders possess this document and drive employee engagement, which increases morale and employee retention.

If you want your teams to win consistently, provide them with the guidance that will help them achieve that and ensure the guidance aligns with the foundations laid out in your Personal Leadership Philosophy.