Four Crucial Words
“Who can own this?”
I ask this question of my own team as often as I ask my clients, because ownership is the gateway to results. I call them the G4 (4 components to getting goals.)
When great ideas, strategies or tactics come out of team meetings, the action plan required to produce the desired results is often left in the ether. This is where enthusiasm thrives and reality dies a slow death.
The G4 is an insurance policy against what one of my favorite clients, a professional athlete, uses to describe a heroic “starting line” sprint with no strategy for race-long maintenance: the “fly and die.”
Goals are no different, because anyone can be clear and visionary in making them, but the application and systemization is what will get them to the finish line.
When I say “who can own this,” it’s really 4 questions packed into one.
Who will be responsible for making this happen?
How will this happen = how will this be operationalized?
By when will this happen?
What is the benchmark for success?
Goals are only valuable when coupled with the systems to achieve them. Answering these basic questions creates a reliable checklist, so there’s zero confusion about the who, how, when and what.
How to implement G4:
Start with four rows labeled Who, How, When and What.
Although it may take multiple people to complete a task, only one person can “own” the goal. Starting with the "who" column, write down the “owner” first and in bold, as well as the other participants required to take action.
Ask each participant what actual steps they can commit to. Write these in the "how" column. (People are more likely to commit to actions when they are declared in front of a group.)
Now it’s time to create urgency. Get timing from each person. Be as specific as possible – being too vague serves no one.
“What” is about the benchmark. Success can be one thing or several, but the group needs a collective agreement about what “success” is for it to be motivating.
It then becomes management’s responsibility to make sure that those tasked with bringing the goal to life have the tools to make it happen. An owner or manager’s role is to remove the obstacles in the way of achievement.
I recently heard to this episode of Harvard Business Review’s Ideacast. Guy Raz, who has interviewed over 700 of the world’s most successful leaders, talk about the common attributes these leaders reinforce in their businesses. It’s a quick listen (you don’t have to play it on 2x speed the way I do) and you may get a couple ideas. Enjoy…
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