One of the biggest and most persistent questions plaguing managers at all levels is how to maximize the productive capacity of their people. How does a leader empower teams to make the best use of their time?
Rick Kelly, Chief Strategy Officer at Fuel Cycle, is one of the leaders seeking to solve that question.
Rick Kelly - Chief Product Officer at Fuel Cycle
“One of the things I really enjoy in the strategy role is studying human behavior. How do people operate?” Kelly says. “How are you going to act and how do competitors interact with you? How do you retain customers?”
While Kelly has leveraged his background in statistics and political science to gain insight into customer behavior, it has also given him the tools to lead his direct reports—and the direct reports under them—to greater success. These are four keys to Kelly’s strategy for getting the best from his people.
1. Don’t be the one building the plan.
When you’re the one ultimately accountable for a team’s actions, it can feel irresponsible to leave the roadmap to someone else. But in Kelly’s experience, letting go of the details has opened his teams up to hit benchmarks in ways that make the most sense for them.
“If I'm building out a plan, usually there's something wrong,” Kelly laughs. “I'd rather set the context, provide as much information as possible, describe what success looks like and the expected outcome, and then have our team members go ahead and execute on that.”
But as with everything, there’s a balance to strike. Leaders shouldn’t pretend they never have a responsibility to take a more hands-on approach.
“If there's a crisis or there's something urgent, then stepping in and being heavy-handed may be required.”
2. Choose your stress wisely.
Problems will always need to be solved, no matter how well you plan or how meticulous your processes are. The amount of stress that comes along with solving those problems is all a matter of timing, according to Kelly.
“You choose your own stress,” he asserts. “Whether you put the stress up-front or backload it, there will be an inflection point. So, the best way to prevent reactive stress is to put in the effort up-front.”
Make it clear to your teams that solving small problems at the outset is better than trying to solve them further down the line when they’ve become larger and more difficult to address.
3. Planning is crucial, but don’t become mired in perfection.
The volume of preparation and planning that goes into a project is the biggest determinant of its ultimate success, according to a new book by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, How Big Things Get Done. That was certainly the biggest takeaway for Kelly, but he advises leaders not to forget the pitfalls of perfection.
“Whether you're building the Sydney Opera House or the Guggenheim Museum, how well it goes is a function of preparation and planning,” Kelly says. “But there’s a great framework, Boyd’s Law of Iteration, that says the velocity of decision-making produces better outcomes over time, rather than making the right decision the first time. So, I'd rather take in enough information to decide, and then be able to correct, rather than wait too long to make a decision.”
4. Know when to say no.
Many high-level leaders advanced in their careers by saying yes to whatever good opportunities presented themselves. But that enthusiasm can easily come to overburden and distract a team from the projects or metrics that really matter.
“I've said yes to lots of opportunities, and now I have to really curate the amount of things I say yes to,” Kelly reflects. “Saying no, and setting priorities for what I want, is really key.”
As a leader, be discerning about which opportunities you choose to capitalize on. Managing your own productive capacity and bandwidth will have cascading effects down the chain of command—make sure the impact is positive.
