A: You get back to running your business.
I’m serious.
If it’s not clear how incremental developmental activity is going to help generate outsized results relative to the investment, then you don’t do it. Following testing and coaching and team building and more testing, coaching, and team building, simply out of a desire to “get the most out of your investment,” is going to make me rich and accomplish not much else.
Actually, that’s not entirely true; if I think you’re wasting your money, I won’t do the work. But some consultant will, and that consultant will make some coin at your expense.
Don’t get me wrong: I believe in what I do, and I think there is tremendous value in having a team assessed, or coached, or built. And much of this work takes time. But let’s not forget that the point of all this is not to make you and your team perfect people—that’s what therapy is for—it’s to make you as productive and profitable as possible. It’s to get insights into problem solving, personality, interpersonal, and managerial abilities and use this knowledge to drive better business outcomes.
To the extent that profitability follows engagement, and engagement requires the alignment of one’s personal and professional goals, then yes, we are going to work the person, even at the risk of concluding that the person is wrong for the role that s/he has. We are going to assess your peoples’ ability to do the jobs you’ve asked them to do, and the willingness to follow the direction you’ve set. We are going to assess the skill and will of your team. But then we’re going to turn our attention to the application of what we just learned. To your business.
We’re going to zero in on the things people need to do better and at the individual level, tweak the way they delegate, manage, and approach work generally. We’re going to probe into the unmentionables, like is the person smart enough and passionate enough for the job they’ve been given, and how much more responsibility can the person handle?
At the team level, we’re going to create new problem solving and communication habits, and to the extent that an individual is out of his or her depth but is valuable to the team overall, we’re going to look at how to shift roles and responsibilities in order to get the job done. We’ll modify the org chart to suit the team if need be; we believe results > clean org charts. And if we need to call the boss and say, “We’ve met with your subordinates, and the problem isn’t them, it’s you,” then that’s what we do. (And what I’ve done.) My goal isn’t to build the prettiest consulting firm; it’s to build one that provides real solutions to real problems. Sometimes, that means taking a 2×4 to someone’s ego.
(Hey, no one promised you that growth was going to be neat and clean, or even pleasant, did they? Remember puberty? Growth can be easy, or it can be awkward, painful and hard… and there’s no knowing what it’ll be until you start. )
But let’s be clear: at every step of the way, these activities should be about execution. After a point, development that takes you away from execution and focuses you on minutia and box-checking has a flat or negative marginal value.
Too many teams carry development too far; they don’t know where to stop. Or, they’re still so afraid of facing the business issues that caused them to go through all the assessment stuff in the first place that they prolong development efforts as a form of procrastination. You know when that’s the case; you can feel it in your gut. And if your coach isn’t calling you on it, then I have a message for you: time for a new coach.
If you want to get to the heart of your mental and emotional issues, see a shrink. If you want to learn, learn, learn, take a class, or at least make it a habit to read something every day.
If you’re working with a consultant or coach within a business context, you should be focused on one thing:
results.
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I think every consulting shop should get their hands on a few of the statements above. “My goal isn’t to build the prettiest consulting firm; it’s to build one that provides real solutions to real problems.” That statement alone could be the start of some amazingly honest business goals.
Impressive turn around to my question on Wednesday. Thanks for putting your answer into the written word so quickly. This provides a more meaningful perspective to the personality assessments and leadership training. Thanks.
Anytime, Matt. Y’all rocked up in Detroit. Very on the ball with some heady stuff during a tough day. (I’m talking about the Lion’s firing their coach, of course).