Leaders teach others how they want to be treated

Posted: March 28, 2014 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

If you are ever in charge of a project, it is likely that you will need to count on others to help you get the job done right, on time, and within budget.  We depend on others to come through for us.  Sometimes they fall short.  When they do, we often hear excuses like, “It took longer than I thought” or “I’ve been meaning to get to that”…and so on.  When we don’t do what we say we will do, we compromise our integrity, and we think that blaming others and making excuses will work.  It doesn’t.

Here is the challenge:  Have you ever known someone who you could always count on to follow through, no matter what?  They commit, give you a deadline, and you can be absolutely certain that they will meet or exceed expectations.  I know some folks like this.  They are not in the majority.  The rest mean well, and we know where the road to good intentions can lead.

With this dilemma in mind, how do we run a project and keep it on schedule?  Let’s look at an example of someone who was known for always completing his projects on time and within budget.  His name was Dick Clark.  If you’re a baby-boomer, you remember him from American Bandstand.  What he really loved doing was producing TV movies.  He had a sterling reputation of completing all his movies by the deadline, date and within budget.  How did he do it?  To begin with, he would meet with his team beforehand and ask them what their expectations were.  He agreed to their expectations.  When it was his turn to talk, he would give them his rules.  They were simple:  Each person was responsible for specific tasks.  They would negotiate a deadline and commit to it.  They would also do it without excuses.  Why?  Because Dick Clark got their agreement up front and held them to it.  So what would happen if you missed your deadline and came up with an excuse?  That wasn’t an option, and those who doubted this quickly found out.  Dick stuck to his deadlines, and so did his team.  Although this may sound like a harsh environment, his team enjoyed their work and were proud of their reputation.

Dick Clark practiced two very important parts of leadership:

1. He clearly communicated his expectations.
2. He taught others how he wanted to be treated

He believed in building a winning team.