Lead, Agree, Coach

LEADING IS:

• Guiding followers toward a destination, a Compelling and Audacious Goal (CAG) for the team.
• About the Why
  • Why are we going to that CAG?
• About the Where
  • Where is that destination?
• About the What
  • What milestones are we set to achieve
• About the When
  • When do we want to reach our CAG?
• About working on how their team matters.

COACHING IS:

• Inspiring each team member to grow, perform, accomplish, and increase their impact.
• About the Who
  • Who is that person?
  • Who is the ideal person for that function in the team?
• About the How
  • How must that person act to fulfill the responsibilities of their Seat?
• About working with and for each person on that team.

LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITIES

Leaders are accountable for defining and communicating the company’s:

• Compelling Why
• Industry and Niche
• Products and/or Services
• Ideal Customer
• Compelling Value Proposition
• Core Values
• Structure
• Compelling and Audacious Goals

COACHING ACCOUNTABILITIES

Coaches are accountable for:

• Hiring and retaining Ideal Team Members
• Clarifying each team member's required competencies
• Discovering each team member's career aspirations
• Creating each team member's experiences as part of the team
• Creating the necessary communications with each team member
• Enhancing the team's health

At the intersection of leading a team and coaching each person in the team are the agreements set between the leader/coach and the team, between the leader/coach and each person in the team, and among all members of the team.

These agreements are arrangements that are accepted by all team members, turning into commitments that are made by all team members and used as Focus Filters for daily decisions.

In addition to turning those accountabilities as leaders/coaches into agreements, there are essential agreements on:

• 3-year goals
• 1-year goals
• Rocks, or 90-day goals
• Financial and non-financial KPIs
• To-dos
• Issues

I have a compelling vision for my team. I know where we're going. I know why we're going there. I have aligned my vision for my team with my peers. I know what goals and milestones my team and I must accomplish to get to the destination I envisioned. I know what types of challenges we'll be facing along the way.  

I provide the necessary resources to my team. I ensure that the team has the required people, tools, technology, and training to achieve its goals. I ensure the team has or develops the required processes and has enough time to reach its goals.

I focus on the who and the what, not the how. I ensure the team is structured for the highest performance and the right people are in the right seats and doing the right things. I allow and support each team member to use their unique abilities and do their work in their way.

I honor the organization's vision and Focus Filters. Whether I lead or coach the Senior Leadership Team, a department, or any other team in a company, I fully adhere to the company's vision. I follow my leader when I must follow and fully commit to decisions, even when I may disagree.

I lead by example. I walk the talk. I commit to being responsible for my actions, centered as a way of being thoughtful and clear in my communications,  focused on the goals I agreed to, confident in my abilities to lead and coach my team, competent in performing my tasks, and disciplined in my execution.

I am open, honest, and transparent. I am open to hearing from my team members what's working and what isn't. I am open to receiving feedback. I am honest and transparent in my actions, with no hidden agendas.

We turn expectations into agreements. We explicitly agree on what’s important, what matters. We honor what we agreed upon with respect to our roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities; our Rocks; our Core Values; and our KPIs and their associated targets.

We talk about how we are doing. We talk about how we’re fulfilling our roles, accountabilities, and responsibilities; performing alongside our KPIs; and completing our Rocks. We also talk about how well we’re fitting into the company’s culture, how well we’re embracing its Core Values, and how well we’re fitting into our respective Seats.

We communicate well. We consistently strive to understand what’s on each other’s minds and what’s in each other’s hearts by asking and answering appropriate questions. We
don’t avoid tough conversations, telling the truth even when it’s uncomfortable. We carry all conversations in a truthful, specific, and positive way. We trust each other’s intentions.

We meet with the right cadence. We meet weekly with our team as a whole. We hold 1-on-1 meetings when necessary to deal with novelty, challenges, and changes. We meet quarterly to review the progress we’ve made where we missed and to establish new quarterly Rocks and KPIs and targets if appropriate. We extend our Quarterly into an Annual Planning Meeting once a year to challenge and revisit our vision and set new 1-year goals.

We work together to help people grow. We explore each team member’s career aspirations and where they are on their journey. We talk about where the team member is and what they need to grow and become more valuable to the team and to the company as a whole.

We genuinely care about each other. We provide each other with timely feedback and positive feedforward. Each team member feels appropriately rewarded and compensated, appreciated and valued. We ensure that each team member matters and feels so.