By Matt Webb,
Principal, Consulting Practice Lead
It’s that time of the year when 64 college basketball teams (yes, I’m a traditionalist) come together to make one last push to be crowned champions: the best in their field. Where underdogs upset perennial favorites, where last-second bounces can mean the difference between victory and defeat; a time that is simply known as March Madness.
It’s one of my favorite times of the year, having played and been part of a team – it’s the culmination of more than a year’s body of work coming together seeking to collectively achieve something that might seem unreachable and to have your team (or your bracket’s, aka the adopted team) highlighted at the end of “One Shining Moment,” the song played to celebrate the winning team and the road traveled to achieve success.
The journey of leadership development is a lot like, in many ways, the pursuit of “One Shining Moment.” It requires hard work, dedication, personal sacrifice, pursuit of common goals, victories, setbacks, and most importantly a commitment to love the process of bettering yourself and the team(s) you support. During a recent engagement with one of TransPro’s clients, we were focusing on the leadership development attribute of ownership. Ownership, unlike
responsibility or accountability, is very difficult to measure. It is personal, you can’t assign ownership, one must want to own the process that is required to see results, overcome setbacks and yes – celebrate victories.
At the onset of many leadership development journeys, individuals and teams often start with identifying and developing goals: what is it that we as individuals want to achieve, what is it that our teams want to achieve. Many times, these goals are results oriented versus outcomes oriented.
What’s the difference you might ask? Results oriented leadership development focuses on the immediate or the quantifiable consequences of an investment in one’s self. Outcomes oriented leadership, on the other hand, emphasizes the broader impact and long-term implications and the commitment to owning the process will provide.
‘This team must win this game so that we can be eligible for March madness’ is often a phrase you hear leading up to Selection Sunday and the announcement of the tournament. Yes, the results of each NCAA basketball game matter, but teams can’t get the results they desire without buying into the process and committing to become better and owning the individual steps required to achieve success outcomes – a process that begins months and months before any ball is tipped.
Delivering amazing customer service, demonstrating taxpayer value, serving in a way that the community consistently acknowledges the value of the agency, are all success measures that require more than just one activity and more than just a strong C-suite to achieve. It requires creating a culture of excellence where your employees understand how their individual roles contribute to the greater success outcomes.
Does your organization only focus on the results that your employees generate or are you focused on equipping your team with the tools and skills needed for them to take ownership to deliver excellence? Making an investment in your people is one of the most important decisions you can make for your organization. Employees who are empowered to take ownership are more likely to feel valued and appreciated, and organizations with a highly engaged workforce almost always achieve their “One Shining Moment” every single day by serving more satisfied customers and enjoying broad community support.
For more information on our Leadership Development and Executive Coaching programs or tips to fix a broken NCAA tourney bracket, email Matt Webb at matt@transproconsulting.com.
