Practice the 3 daily priorities for leaders - Clear Expectations, Clear Consequences and Self-governance - and get more done.
GR8 Leaders use those 3 daily priorities in their life and encourage the priorities in the lives of those with or around them. Those 3 priorities increase their focus and the team's focus. Of course, the Daily Priorities work best with the foundation of the 6 Critical Values and the 5 Essential Capacities.
Think about it - if you know the task, the consequences if you do not do it, and the task is your responsibility - you increase the odds of achievement.
But, it does not stop there. GR8 Leaders also value and develop people. That means you make sure people know their expectations, the consequences, and they are responsible for the expectations. You not only apply the 3 daily priorities to yourself, you teach them to everyone. That gets more done!
Clear Expectations
One of our favorite statements is, "Where you look, you tend to go!" Unfortunately, many people and organizations wander from one shiny object to the next. They have no clear "THERE".
Without a clear end result, you do not organize and focus your energy. You react and respond to the waves of life, circumstances and people. Worse yet, when you have no clear expectations for yourself, you do not align yourself with those under or around you, much less with the organization.
On the other hand, GR8 leaders are clear about what needs to be done today, and plan for this week, month and year. That is strategic thinking and how it ties to strategic planning which organize your thoughts, goals and actions for each day.
Do you want to get more done? Then start each morning with the Daily Focus Form like the one shown. You review your goals/tasks, people to contact, and then decide on the 1 to 3 things that you WILL DO today.
Or, capture actions and notes for the next 7 days and next 30 days.
Click the image and download a PDF of the form. If you want the form as well as other great forms and information, click here on to get the FREE Daily CATALYST video email.
When you have clear expectations for yourself and they align with the organization, that is a clear mark of a high-performer. And, if you report to a manager, check with them to make sure you are on target. That simple action advertises your desire to not only achieve your goals, but also theirs and the organization's goals. Further, when you listen and make appropriate changes, you advertise a willingness to learn and grow.
Once you do that, you then focus on excellent execution, because you have the right target in your sights.
Clear Consequences
It is even better when you link clear expectations to clear consequences. That means you see the good and bad when expectations are or are not met. That does not require a sense of urgency - just REALITY. What happens if you do not finish the report today? What happens if you do not fill those orders? How do you hurt the team if you do not meet your goals?
Business is not a children's soccer match where you get a trophy for showing up. There are winners and losers. Everyone knows that reality when they participate in life and leadership. The 3 daily priorities prepare you for the next level of leadership. So, please know and understand your expectations as well as your consequences for each of your tasks and goals.
Further, share REALITY with your team or group. Remind them how the Clear Expectations and Clear Consequences fit together.
And, please do not lead with ultimatums and demands. That is a short-term approach that does not work for the long-term. It looks like the right thing, but it is not. The better approach encourages freedom and self-governance with the 3 Daily Priorities.
Self-governance
Finally, GR8 Leaders self-govern. They do the right thing and require no follow-up, because they understand the team's and organization's goals are extremely important. They increase the productivity of the organization because they do the tasks and accomplish the goals set before them without wasting the follow-up energy of others.
So, what is self-governance. The GR8 Leaders definition is:
Pass up immediate gratification for future reward
You may prefer - "Doing the right thing, because it needs to be done." Both definitions work, but the first covers more of life.
Self-governance is a basic element of life that is often overlooked. GR8 Leaders constantly grow their self-governance and help those around them do the same.
Now think about it, if self-governance increases in each person in your group, they get more done and you do too. You focus more on critical and strategic issues and spend less time double-checking their work. They do not need your checkup, because they show the discipline of accomplishing their tasks and goals on their own.
So, consider this. Use less demands and more freedom in your leadership. Use the self-governance or invitational model. Create a structure built on each person's strengths. Align their strengths with their expectations and the expectations of the organization.
Again, demands work - but they have a high cost. You create an environment of compliance - not creativity and self-governance. An environment that gets things done when the boss watches or is angry, but not so much any other time.
It's your choice. Self-governance requires a real leader that values people and, at the same time, gets the job done. It is part of a leadership model that focuses on WE, while other models focus on ME to the detriment of others.
The GR8 Leaders CATALYST System promotes the use of these 3 Daily Priorities. Check out your leadership now. Click here and take 2 FREE Leadership Assessments.