CEOs who aspire to spectacular growth have expectations of nothing short of exceptional results from their leaders. They rally these leaders with optimistic views of the future and eyes on the rewards that will be given for achieving KPIs and other metrics.
Strong leaders take the nod and push their departments forward with similar focus. The drive for growth is pushed down through the organization where outstanding results are expected consistently.
While many top performing companies experience this, leaders need to be mindful that sometimes people are driving so fast and furiously that they miss their turn off. As a result, they metaphorically need to get off the freeway and must backtrack to where they missed their exit.
What causes this to happen? It can be a wide range of issues, however, here are three of the top ones to keep your eyes on.
+ Success metrics that don’t fit all departments. Although it’s important that all departments set success metrics, sometimes these need to be tweaked because “one size doesn’t fit all.”
+ Metrics that assume all employees perform at the same level. Employee performance varies, and not everyone is a top performer. Unrealistic goals can backfire and even result in departures or quiet quitting.
+ Inability to be nimble during erratic economic conditions. Things change. Think about how supply chain delays or higher interest rates have stymied otherwise successful companies during the past few years.
Of course, you don’t want your people to miss their exits and backtrack to realign. Continue to set ambitious goals, but be prepared to make course corrections quickly and realign metrics as needed.
Header image by Craig Adderley/Pexels.
