It’s been a busy and fruitful first quarter. After a foundational year in 2018, my top priority coming into 2019 was to maintain our momentum so we can help more great families. I believe our calling is big, but our time to impact critical decisions is short. So, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we can operate more efficiently to quickly grow the number of clients we serve.
In my opinion, the single greatest contributor to company growth is timely decision making. However, that can only happen if your leaders are in alignment about the vision. Internal friction, slow progress and death-by-discussion are simply a result of people not being aligned within a company. I recommend these three ways to align your leadership team, so you can maximize company growth:
Clarify your purpose. Every person within an organization should be able to articulate in their own words why you exist and where you’re headed. From your board of directors and executive team to managers, employees, partners and vendors – all must understand the direction you intend to move and their part in helping you get there.
Communicate clearly and frequently. It’s not enough to communicate that purpose once and expect it to drive your organization. It’s the job of company leadership to keep everyone focused on that purpose. That requires regular communication, transparency about progress and vulnerability about your opportunities and areas in need of improvement.
Use time wisely. If timely decision making is directly tied to your growth, I cannot stress enough the importance of running efficient and effective meetings, especially with your leadership team. Gathering a group of senior staff together is an investment of valuable resources. So, be mindful of what you’re sacrificing by having your leaders in one room, and make sure the outcome is worth the effort. Meetings should be reserved for making decisions, not having discussion. Discussions should happen prior to the meeting and only with impacted parties. Again, if everyone is aligned on your core purpose, lengthy discussions shouldn’t be necessary.
When everyone in an organization understands your purpose, is continuously refocused on it and decisions are made swiftly in light of that purpose, imagine what you can accomplish! And when your purpose is as important as I believe ours is, imagine how many lives you can impact! I wish you three more quarters of productivity, purpose and growth.
Blog by Kyle Brownlee, Chief Executive Officer.
Category: Leaders
