Sharing knowledge as CEOs is one of the best ways to weigh in on different perspectives, compare effective management strategies, and create a strong community of like-minded leaders who are building the companies that will define our collective future.
It’s a big part of the reason behind why I wanted to start writing a ‘How To CEO’ series for fellow business leaders like me. A topic that comes up again and again is how I choose to analyze performance and gauge how we’re doing collectively as a company.
We’ve all transitioned to a hybrid work environment, where both in-person and work from home is the norm, and the use of Zoom and Teams is now as common as using Excel. Frankly, there are days where I feel as if I’m managing the organization’s progress like I’m watching Netflix or Hulu, as I quickly shift from different channels to gain the latest insights or episodes from shows called marketing, sales, operations, staff meetings, and board meetings. But, I never let the digital channels overtake my need to be in front of people, as I do travel consistently to ensure face-to-face meetings across our organization’s North American office and DC network.
That said, I have found that conducting a consistent set of weekly operating meetings via Zoom does help not just the teams to provide updates on projects, programs, and performance, but conveniently enables us to invite broader, cross-functional teams into these rooms to see under the hood of how the company is being run. I’ve found that holding weekly meetings enables others to see what good looks like. Most rooms include a leader who has a clear agenda, slides representing key projects, and timelines, and require visual and video examples documenting their progress.
It becomes clear, based on the preparation and detailed plans, which teams are performing well, and which ones are struggling. Most importantly, attendance enables everyone to see how we are executing against the strategy, and with more cross-functional awareness, the better our overall results.
Associates can stream and consume a variety of functional episodes each week at any given time that covers different areas of the business to get a broader picture of what’s going on in the company. This is a practice I started that informs the entire organization about our shared goals, mission, and what we can all do to better support one another.
From SVP to Director, it’s easy for participants to present and gain exposure for their work and accomplishments, versus being jammed into a conference room. I generally quickly post my meeting observations, a.k.a., episode reviews, on our internal social network. This encourages real-time recognition for teams globally and across functions and ultimately contributes to higher associate engagement levels.
In terms of looking closely into my teams’ performance, there’s a few practices I uphold that make a world of difference in management and go a long way toward getting everyone on the same page.
I often set aside time to analyze week-to-week and even day-to-day performance, and I’m not afraid to get deep into the details.
In some ways, we have the recent rise in remote work to thank for this change in how we conduct meetings. In real life, you just can’t have 40 people together in a meeting. Things would inevitably slow down and it’s too challenging to get that many people to sit down with one another at the same time. But with this strategy, you can have many people in a Zoom room, where participants only have to dial in to see quickly how things are performing, what’s working and what isn’t working, and hear directly from managers and executives about what’s going on to have a clearer view beyond just their department.
This strategy is a hands-on approach that just works. It keeps teams engaged and connected to the bigger picture while giving everyone the chance to hear directly from executives about the direction we’re going and what we hope to achieve in the future.
In my upcoming ‘How To CEO’ series, I’ll share more insights into enhancing your business, leading your teams, and key things I’ve found that help me do my very best work no matter the challenge.