Creating a Value Driven Team

Creating a Value Driven Team

Which of the following does your firm report on, monitor and react to most frequently? Is it client satisfaction levels, is it the strength of key client relationships, is it employee motivation and energy, or perhaps its financial results? Which consumes most of your management time?

If you answered financial results, don’t worry, from our experience without doubt so do the overwhelming majority of professional practices. And as a result your practice and others are making less money than would be possible with a change in direction.

We have all heard the expression, ‘putting the cart before the horse’; well in this case it is no different. Because managing a business by looking at financial results is like trying to win a game by keeping your eye firmly fixed on the scoreboard. Financial results are just that - results. They are the outcome. To achieve the right outcome you must report on, monitor, react and manage those things that produce value. And that means managing your team because energised employees who deliver outstanding quality and service to the marketplace - will bring far greater profits than a fixation with financial results.

Does this mean you don’t monitor and track your financial performance? Of course not. But the real key to business success is, not focusing all your attention and decisions on whether you made profit last week, but by getting your people sufficiently focused so that they eagerly and willingly strive for high standards. If you can do this, the dollars will follow.

Having completed many strategic plans for a range of clients I have noticed, quite remarkably, that they feature many of the same ingredients. Everyone sits around and figures out correctly which client sectors are growing, which services are rising in demand, and which dimensions of competition, such as client service or innovation, clients are looking for. Everyone knows what needs to be done. But those who succeed are those who can best action the strategic plan. And this in turn is determined by the following vital ingredients:

• energy
• drive
• enthusiasm
• excitement
• commitment
• passion
• ambition

Hence an owner’s role needs to be a creator of energy, drive and enthusiasm amongst their team. Alas, too often, owner’s are the destroyers of excitement. If all they ever talk about is finances e.g. “how are your billings? What’s happening to receivables?” it can deaden the spirit of your team. It doesn’t mean the subjects are unimportant rather that there should be a wider more exciting range of subjects to provide a more balanced environment.

Many employees believe their leaders only want them to be dollar focused. Whenever a choice needs to be made between strategy i.e. developing a reputation for superior quality, and short term cash, most people feel under significant and irresistible pressure from management to go for the cash. The message seems to be, go for the cash today, strategy can wait til tomorrow.

However if you’re willing to sacrifice value to earn short-term cash, you won’t create a market reputation for superior quality. If you want to be known as excellent at something, you have to be reliably, consistently excellent at it. Not be swayed by daily temptations, short term expediencies and wonderful excuses for why we can’t afford to stick to high standards today.

It takes courage to believe that a reputation for excellence is worth more in the long run than incremental cash. It begins with a promise in the vision, strategic plans, and objectives, but we see owners more often than not compromise this promise.

An effective owner must have the courage of the convictions they espouse, maintain a long term focus, and intervene personally whenever there are departures from the values and vision that create excellence. A key is to be disciplined about maintaining the integrity of those standards and leading by example. Team members need to know that there are consequences if there is noncompliance to set standards. If an owner doesn’t show leadership on these matters then other team members will see that maintaining the standards is not vital and cease striving to comply. The result is that a strategy based on a reputation for quality, will never be attained.

Let’s Make it Happen
To get started, take out your documents developed with your team's input that describe your company’s vision, purpose, values and strategy. Turn them into a questionnaire and ask your team how well they think the firm is going in relationship to those benchmarks for success.
If you find out that there are some things that you’re not doing so well it's time to re-evaluate and as a leader commit yourself and your team to achieving the standards or objectives the documents contain.

Another vital step is to involve as many people as possible in the process of implementing, if not actually setting, strategy. The task of energising, mobilising, and motivating action is easier with people feeling involved, rather than being imposed on from above.
As an owner, your job is much easier if you can share the load with a motivated team who want to help. Ask the team, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Lastly let me share what I think is a key message to be a successful owner and leader.
A leader doesn’t build a business. A leader builds an organisation that builds a business. Many owners start because of their technical excellence, their business development skills or their financial skills. However, there comes a point where the central question is, can you manage? Are you a creator of energy, drive and ambition in others? Can you cause others to strive to achieve high standards?