Do They Have the Right Tools for the Job?

Have you ever been expected to accomplish a task without having the tools you need to do it? I’m guessing the majority of folks I’d ask that question would be able to provide very specific details around their own example of this almost immediately! If that’s never happened to you, let me know where you’ve worked and if any of those places are hiring…

Seriously though, I’ve seen this happen in all kinds of scenarios and in basically every organization I can think of. That said, I’ve rarely known an executive - and certainly never a leader - who has intentionally given someone on their team a task without having what they needed to accomplish it. But that’s not to say it doesn’t happen at times…

One company we work with routinely has even put systems in place to empower their team members to prevent this from happening; the owner of that company makes it known that not having the necessary tools should never be the reason a job doesn’t get done! He hasn’t gone as far as handing out blank checks, but I’ve rarely seen him push back when anyone provides him with a legitimate reason for making a purchase.

It’s not that hard to picture this when it comes to the physical tools used in a given trade, but what about the tools that are needed in every single organization - especially if the owners and executives hope to develop or even maintain a culture that attracts and keeps great people? Those tools are rarely on the shelf at the local hardware store, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore them!

The tools I’m referring to here tie back to those executive leadership skills we started digging into last time. As Cindy and I work with the group who make up our Executive Leadership Elite Think Tank, we definitely challenge them to identify the action steps they’re personally going to take leaving each session but we also push them to consider exactly who they’ll be working with on their team to put those steps in place and how they can provide those team members with the tools they’ll each need to be successful in the process. All too often, the most effective do’ers in our organizations get rewarded with new - but very different - responsibilities. And in most cases, those same folks aren’t provided with the support (tools) they’ll need to be as successful in that new role as they had been in their previous role. 

A skill that we’ve seen be absolutely critical for business owners and executives to master has been learning to identify what tools each of their team members need to perform greatly in each new role they task them with. It’s easy to assume that someone who’s great at what they’re currently doing will do just as well with anything else, but that’s just not how life works. However, recognizing what tools are necessary for each new task, and when to provide them, can play a huge part in developing our team members. And when those tools help those team members lead their own team more effectively, we’ll soon see exponential results throughout our organization.

But even then, it won’t  automatically happen by just making the tools available so we’ll look at the executive leadership skill that keeps this process moving next time...