Position is a Lagging Indicator!
Young leaders often want it now, but patience is key! Leading vs. Lagging is the key
Some younger leaders (ok, all leaders) I have had conversations with over the years often find themselves disappointed in their position in an organization. Sometimes it’s their salary position, sometimes it’s their position around an important table of people, and sometimes it’s their job title. But what they haven’t yet figured out (and boy do I speak from experience on this one) is that positional influence is often the most lagging of all lagging indicators/measures of performance. Your wage, title or even ability speak into a conversation is often not valued immediately. But all hope is not lost! There are many, many things that any leader can do to help this lagging indicator move a little quicker. It’s time to start focusing on the leading indicators/measures.
In Four Disciplines of Execution (4DX), (by far one of my favorite strategy execution books, if not favorite business book period), the authors talk about lead measures. In an organizational context, a lead measure tracks whatever activity will help lead to the lagging measure. In other terms, what do I need to do differently, more of, less of, etc to meet that goal I have. If you want to have a different seat at the table, you have to figure out what it would actively take to get to that seat.
The most popular New Year’s resolution is by far to lose weight, right? I can say it all day long for weeks before that I am going to lose weight, but if I don’t change a single habit, create and execute an exercise plan or even consult with a nutritionist, am I setting myself up for success or failure?
The better way: Set a target. Let’s say I want to weight 200lbs and I currently weigh 220lbs. I’ve researched it and the best way to lose weight is 1-2lbs/week. I will start on January 1st. So accounting for weeks that I don’t lose as much and the first few weeks where I lose more, we could reasonably assume that I could lose 20lbs in 12 weeks time. So my goal is laid out like this: I want to go from 220lbs to 200lbs by March 30th. Getting to 200 lbs is my lagging indicator. I’ll only know if I was successful once I am already there. The leading measures might be that I will do 30 minutes of cardio exercise 4 days a week and 30 minutes of strength training 2 days a week. (This would be a change from what I was currently doing for exercise). Also, I will eat 3 servings of vegetables a day. (Also a change). Boom, work the plan, scoreboard the plan so you know if you’re winning or losing (and can make adjustments along the way if needed) and I bet you’ll find out that if you stick to it, you will lose weight. But this post isn’t about losing weight, it’s about your position. But the leading measures don’t have to be drawn so far out that they feel like they are unattainable.
You are more in control of your position in your organization than you realize. Start with figuring out where you want to be. Be reasonable and realistic (If you haven’t read Jon Acuff’s book Start yet, I highly recommend it) about where you want to be next. If you have any doubts (or even if you don’t!) about whether or not your goals or lagging indicator is realistic, reach out to a few friends or mentors and tell them about your plan. Their reactions to your plans should tell you all you need to know. Set a small and attainable lag measure/goal first: I want to make $500 more by the end of March. If you’re salary is at all influenced by a commission, this ones probably the easiest to attain. I’m sure in your head it starts with “sell more stuff.” But you know it’s more than that. You have to get more granular. Maybe it starts with making a weekly list of phone calls or emails that I will send to drum up business. Maybe it’s scheduling two client lunches a week. You know your business. But do you know what it takes to get to the next level?
If I want to change my leadership position, maybe I need to start with scheduling times for people to mentor me. Maybe I also need to mentor others.Largely, in leading measures, what makes it to the calendar will go a long way towards achieving your lagging measure.