Sometimes it pays to keep things really simple. Keeping people focused on the right stuff, keeping people continually effective and motivated is never easy. However I’m observing  3 basic problems with leadership styles as I dive deep into the operational management of Portfolio Partnership clients: “over-thinking”, lack of clarity in task definition and a lack of follow up. The solution rests with great Progress Report Meetings.

Solution

First define what constitutes a project for staff that report directly to you. It doesn’t get added to the list unless there is clarity around the objective and deliverables of the project. Let’s be clear I mean the deliverables from that staff member. That’s column one. Column two lists the progress made SINCE the last progress meeting. Many times this will read NONE. Final and third column is called Clear Next Steps. This simple sheet listing all the key projects, progress and clear next steps will drive getting the right stuff done. It needs to be done at least every two weeks. It’s meant to be a mentoring session not a disciplinary meeting!

As a manager you get to define the priority of agenda items, you force moving the ball forward, and you have clarity of future actions.