Leadership is influencing people to
successfully work together to achieve a common goal. When I think of leadership
I think of two statements. One is from Stephen Covey “begin with the end in
mind” and the other was from Harry S. Truman “the buck stops here”.
As a leader it is important to have a
compelling vision of what you want to accomplish. The leader needs to be able
to communicate the vision in a manner that others understand it and get excited
enough about it that they want to be a part of it. If the team does not “buy
into” the vision it is going to be very difficult to make the vision
successful. One way of earning the “buy in” is by asking for input from all the
stakeholders. All includes all. That is from the very top to the people who will be charged with carrying out the vision
and everyone in between. If you're making a change to a restaurant don’t forget
to include the dishwasher if he or she is going to be affected by the change.
You might be surprised at the valuable input you will receive.
It is also important to talk to others
who have been successful in carrying out a similar project. Find out what
success they had and what challenges presented themselves. Don’t reinvent the
wheel, learn from the success and the mistakes of others. Also, if the project is the
subject of government regulation, check with the regulatory agencies. Speak with
zoning, the building department, health department and liquor boards. Make sure
you know what lead time is needed to get a permit approved, how long it takes
to schedule an inspection, check out local codes. Do not rely on your
contractors to have all the correct information. Remember Harry Truman’s saying
the buck stops here. "Here" is with you the leader. Your superior or your
investors are not going to be impressed with a response of “I thought the
contractor knew that”. Its your job as the leader to know that.
Once you have all your input its time to
put together your plan. Again, include your stakeholders in the planning
process. As discussed when seeking input, you may be surprised at the valuable
information you gain. The planning stage is when you want to think of all the
“what if’s” and plan for them. Once the plan is established and acceptable to
the stakeholders its time to implement it. Depending on what is being planned
the next step might be finding a location, construction, training or possibly
something I have not even thought of.
Whatever the next step is remember the
leader is the one who remains ultimately responsible. Therefore, the leader
must keep his or her finger on the pulse and make sure everything is going
according to plan. This means observing the process and coaching the team. When
the leader observes he or she wants to make sure his or her eye is on
everything. A friend of mine who has been a multi-unit manager recently told me, that managers thought he was so smart because he noticed everything. He
confided in me that he was able to notice everything because he was not
involved in the day to day operation. He was just watching, gaining an overview
of what was going on and by doing so noticing things that those involved in day
to day operations might miss. So, remember the leader must always allow time to
just observe what is going on. Chances are the leader will notice something
that needs to be corrected.
Even when the initial project is
complete and you’re in full operations it is important for the leader to
remember the vision and share it with others in a compelling manner. It is
important to remember the plan and for the leader to keep his or her finger on
the plans pulse to make sure the plan is still consistent with the vision and
still being carried out appropriately. It is important to continue observing and coaching.
Remember the team will focus on what the leader focus on. If something is
slipping its probably because the leader lost focus.
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