If relationships matter, then the process trumps the solution.
These words were spoken by Greg McCann, an expert in helping families come together and work through passing the business on to the next generation. It is brilliant, because it is simple and gives you a choice. Do you allow for time to have a process, or do you drive the perfect outcome?
Too often we focus on the outcome, and the process just becomes something we have to do to get there.
Talent management is about relationships and trust. Trust is built by focusing on the process, not necessarily the outcome. I often share with leaders that true Talent Management is like cooking with a crockpot, not a microwave. It just take time, and the end is not an exact time, but a time of day.
Outcome minded leaders like the microwave because it is exact, predictable, and efficient.
If you are a microwave person put the quote above on a post-it and put it up as a reminder for yourself.
- What if – – – we worried more about getting people involved in solving the problem?
- What if – – – we worried more about asking what other people think, giving them a little extra time, letting them fight a little, and accepted non-powerpoint answers that got most of the way there?
- What if – – – we focused on the customer in front of us and not the 9 more we knew we had to talk with?
- What if – – – we stopped filling the one on one agenda and gave that off to our people to make it THEIR time?
But, business results are critical and accountability is synonomous with goal achievement and a clear process for getting there! Enjoy your microwave . . . .