5 powerful steps to shift performance of any organization or team

The shift is all about the moment, as a leader or organization, that you decide to allocate the right level of effort to drive an impact towards the performance and output of your team. When we define SHIFT, it becomes even clearer: to move or cause to move from one place to another, especially over a small distance. Let’s talk about how we make this happen.

The five steps are as follows: Simplify the ask, Harvest the rotten crops, Invest in the future, Fire behaviors (not people) and Throw high fives daily.

1. Simplify the ask: Clarity is a beautiful thing and we truly want to help our teams accomplish amazing things—we need to take clarity quite seriously. This means defining success for our teams and spelling out what specific effort it will take to accomplish these successes. Teams want to clearly be able to see what success will look like, so they can not only accomplish it for themselves, but clearly articulate it to their teams as well. Finally, wherever you’ve landed around simplifying the ask, shave off 33% of the un-necessary. This means that there’s an even stronger opportunity to get simple and clarify. It will help create future success for the team—but be willing to find that 33% and get rid of it.
2. Harvest the rotten crops: This might sound like an oxymoron, harvesting something that’s rotten, but hang in there. Harvesting is actually gathering crops—in this instance, we want to gather the rotten crops and get rid of them. Take it a step further and actually explain to the team why they were rotten (clearly articulating what we don’t want to keep doing). This might involve taking a stand or publicly declaring that something didn’t work, but it’s necessary. The wrap up this stage—start planting the success seeds throughout the organization, and when you do, promote it loudly to the team. Make sure they know these are seeds that will lead to future success.
3. Invest in the future: We’ve spent time simplifying and rooting out the rotten elements of the business, now we need to invest in future efforts. This begins by realizing that seeds need water and people need time. Allow your team to embrace the redirection and the clarity you’ve provided—just watch how much time you give them. One way to help expedite the timing is to role model success … all the time! Your team needs to see you and your team role modeling the asks and when you see small wins—celebrate them! Small wins create the momentum that leads to bigger wins. This continued commitment to celebrating (publicly) wins is what you and the team needs to keep driving sustainability.
4. Fire behaviors, not people: Any leader who says the only way to grow is to fire everyone … isn’t really a leader at all. The goal is to fire the behaviors, not the people—focus on the key behaviors that are required to keep making this SHIFT forward. When you see bad behaviors, the actions that you know won’t get the team anywhere near the realm of success, call out those behaviors and fire them. Articulate why they have no place in the organization and remind the team to simply get rid of them. After remaining clear in this space, give your team an opportunity to lean into the new asks. This is going to reinforce these new behaviors and create the positive buzz that will move the entire team forward.
5. Throw high five daily: It’s clear that up to this point, we’ve been putting in some work and effort to help the team SHIFT forward. How do you sustain it? Through positive reinforcement—this progression towards success needs to be watered consistently, and high fives can be some of the best water to keep it going. Not only should we continue celebrating, we also need to ensure we aren’t steering clear of accountability (positive and necessary). Our teams should still be coached and redirected throughout the process—they need us showing up and continuing to provide clarity/direction. And let’s be honest—high fives rule, everyone wants them and leaders need to be willing to give them up consistently.

One more reminder … the power is yours. The only thing that can keep you or your team from making this SHIFT toward driving higher performance is sheer effort and will. The good news—you own both of those … so just make it happen already!