Last November (2020) as my team was growing, I felt more disconnected from the individual team members. Each Friday morning we met via Zoom for 20 minutes, but mostly the meeting stretched to 45 minutes as we talked about the industry and how we could be a significant change agent.
I knew my team liked being a part of the organization and mostly liked me as a leader, but . . .
I was paranoid that there were things I could be doing better. But I had no idea whether this was true or what those things were.
A caveat here; it was not that I thought I was a perfect leader because I am really hard on myself for my failures, weaknesses, shortcomings. But found myself wondering:
- What if there is something big I am missing that is driving my team members crazy?
- Were there things I could and should be doing better that I was clueless about?
I Knew Where to Turn
I reached out to my close friend Denise Boudreau-Scott and asked her if she would be willing to survey my team members in order to uncover areas that needed work. As we talked, we decided that because my team knew we were close friends it would make more sense for one of Denise’s team members to do the survey.
The Results
I received a report and a slide deck (see the bottom of the article for a link to download both). Here are the primary findings:
- We rated 9 on a scale of 1-10 as a great place to work
- People love being a part of the organization
- We all have a strong sense of mission
- I need to work on better communication with at least some team members (more one-on-ones)
- I sometimes (maybe all the time) come up with too many new ideas
- I need to delegate more tasks (something I knew but still find really, really hard to do)
- I need to spend more time planning for the future
The feedback was affirming and helpful. Most importantly, there were no surprises in the report. My goal is to strive for perfection as a leader. I know that is a theoretical goal that can never be achieved, but it keeps me as a leader and the team moving in the right direction.
My Challenge to You
Most readers are in organizations that are too large to do one-on-one surveys with every team member. But it is possible to survey everyone and do some representative interviews. My question to you is this: Would you be willing to do this?
No, that is actually too weak.
I challenge you to do this.
I, of course, think you ought to talk to Denise at Drive, but there are a bunch of options out there. You just need to make sure they will give you the truth and that you will be willing to use it to make adjustments to your leadership style and your organization.
Click here to see my reports.
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