What other choice is there?
First
of all, get more people to help you push the rock because the work is easier
with many people helping.
Then,
look ahead so you see where you’re going. Find the easiest path up the hill and
start proactively removing the obstacles in your way that make pushing the rock
up the hill harder than it has to be.
Here
are just 5 big obstacles you might run into:
1.
Allowing staff members to actually push the rock down the hill and against your
best efforts because they would seek to sabotage the good efforts of those who
are trying to help. Why do they do it? Sometimes, they feel it’s job security
and sometimes it’s just their makeup. It doesn’t matter much because they
either must get onboard or go. They may not make it obvious that they’re out to
defeat your effort but it’s rare the team doesn’t know who is working against
them. Go out and ride along or do a side by side and it will become clearer as
to who is helping and who is hurting the efforts. You must accept that like a
rock on a hill corporate progress rarely is stagnant. It’s either moving
forward or sliding backwards.
2.
Special treatment for a chosen few takes the heart out of the team who is
pushing hard. Nepotism, favoritism and more are the enemies of a cohesive
effort. And it takes a tough fair-minded leader to navigate around these impediments
to progress.
3.
Not empowering and/or trusting your staff to help. You think you are the only
one who knows how to push the rock the right way and they know you don’t trust
them. This is sad because unless you learn how to build a team, build trust and
get buy-in, your progress is doomed.
4.
No clear incentive to those who are willing to move the rock forward. Without
rewards like bonuses, compensation gains, a chance for promotion and more…they
won’t see how their hard work pays off for them and not just you. Your efforts
will be undermined and whatever success you experience is likely to be short
lived.
5.
A loss of focus because there are too many paths to choose from. Eventually,
paralysis sets in and nothing changes for the better. Or, each day there is a
new crisis to focus on because lack of advanced planning and execution of
business fundamentals makes picking the easier path to the top tough to nearly
impossible.
There
is no “game over” in business. Business is a series of adjustments. The longer
you’re in business the more you should have experienced the ups and downs and
sideways. A true leader finds and builds the right team, gives them powerful
incentives to win and helps select the easier path to success for all.
Comments (0)