Over the past few weeks, you have become an innovative leader! But I knew this day would come. You’re out there, you’re confident that you can innovate, you have been learning what innovation means to your company and why you must innovate daily, but then the big question comes that stops us in our tracks. That question is, “Am I doing this right?” And then we take it one step further, “How should I be innovating?” Let’s spend the next 3 episodes breaking down the “how.” Today let’s tackle step 1, which I call “do it better.”
We already said that innovation is all about doing it better than it has been done before, right?
So that’s where you start. Look at your team right now and answer the following questions:
- What does your team do for the organization?
- Why does your team exist?
- What is your team’s purpose?
- What does your team do that no other team does in the company?
Make your list of responsibilities. Then look at your list and realize that if you do not deliver on the items on this list at the highest level, the company suffers in this portion of the business.
Do you see that?
Now, as you look at the list ask yourself, “What needs to be done better?”
Compare your list to the KPIs that measure your team’s performance. Where are you lagging? Where could you exceed expectations?
Now let me stop for a second. If you have a list of responsibilities and you aren’t measuring each responsibility, that’s where you start.
You must measure.
That metric or KPI doesn’t have to be a line on the P&L, but it has to be something that will give you precise, subjective feedback so you can say, “Yes, we are on track” or “No, we have to get better.”
Then once you have your metrics created for every action or item you must impact in your role, go back and fully assess your performance. Where can you improve? What are ways you could improve?
Once you finish looking internally, look externally. Look at your industry. Who is doing it better in your industry? How do you leap frog them? What is one thing you could do that if you did it, you would bypass that team?
The way you “do it better” is by delivering inside of your company and helping your company do it better than your competitors.
Step one is all about understanding what you must do better. Identify the areas of improvement. Now it’s your turn. Go execute step 1: do it better by identifying what you must do better in your role.
Grab your free workbook here and start making your list.
Be Legendary!