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Explain the
Game
by Lee J.
Colan, Ph.D.
(This report is an excerpt from the book
Power Exchange.)
“Explaining the game” fulfills a basic need
that today’s worker has – to see the meaning or impact of their
work. However, leadership research supports an “explanation
gap.” A Harris Poll of more than 11,000 households found that:
In light of these findings, it’s easy to see how the
explanation gap can lead to an execution gap! So, here
are two simple strategies to help you better explain and
execute.
Answer the Fundamental 4
When you explain the game, you help employees see how
they fit into the big picture. People will naturally
feel more accountable for their performance when they
clearly understand they are a part of something bigger
than themselves.
Powerful leaders explain the game by consistently
answering four questions today’s workers commonly ask:
- What are we trying to achieve? (Goals)
- How are we going to achieve it? (Plans)
- How can I contribute? (Roles)
- What’s in it for me? (Rewards)
How clearly are you explaining these to your team?
Your answers to the Fundamental 4 create a bridge that
connects today’s possibilities to tomorrow’s results.
This is the bridge of accountability. Without this
bridge you are dead in the water. With it, you have the
necessary platform to boost your team’s performance.
At the speed of today’s business and information
overload, it can be quite challenging to decide what to
communicate to employees and what to withhold. It’s easy to say
(usually to ourselves), “They don’t really need to know all
that.” or “My team won’t really understand.” or “I don’t think
they can handle that news right now.” But the truth is that
leaders who
underestimate
the power of their employees generally
overestimate their
own. So, ensure that you answer the Fundamental 4!
Whether an ancient Viking ship captain or a current day
leader, answering the Fundamental 4 saves everyone time
and effort and helps your team perform at the highest
levels. Take a look at this quick video clip to see what
I mean. After that we’ll discuss the rules of
engagement.
Get the Flash Player to see this video.
Define the Rules of Engagement
Rules of engagement help define how your team will
interact.
Think back to your school days. Each teacher, usually on
the first day of the year, explained the classroom rules
of engagement: raise your hand if you have a question,
request a hall pass to use the restroom, place your
homework on your desk each morning, respect others’
property, etc. These rules helped both the teacher and
students focus on the most important things in the
classroom – learning.
Defining the rules of engagement can help your team
focus on what is most important – performance. They
might address how to make decisions, share information,
consider ideas for improvement, coordinate hand-offs,
review work, challenge prevailing thought, prioritize
and resolve conflict.
Rules of engagement do not have to be wordy, but they
must fit your team and be embraced by them. Here are
some other examples:
Every project is debriefed
for lessons learned within one week of project
completion.
Today’s powerful leaders keep their rules of engagement
visible and apply them to decisions they make … even
small decisions. These leaders also rely on their entire
team to ensure each member (included themselves!) is
performing within the rules of engagement. In other
words, they lead and work by these rules.
So, let me use General Norman Schwarzkopf to wrap up
this report on explaining the game. He said,
“Great leaders never tell people what to do. They set
clear goals and establish the parameters. Lousy leaders
think they know it all; and all the while their
organization sits there, aquiver with potential.”
Copyright © 2007 by Lee J. ColanReturn to Back Issues
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