I hate being tackled.
As the CEO, I am the default quarterback. I am scanning the field and planning my next step. I’m developing a strategy and then pivoting it at the last second to keep my team winning. I am constantly trying to figure out how to move our efforts forward — sometimes I am running down the field, sometimes I am speaking at a press conference, sometimes I’m writing plays, sometimes I’m studying my competitors, sometimes I am moving inch by inch, sometimes I am clawing my way there.
I’m always moving my team towards success…. until I’m tackled.
Getting tackled is the worst. It can ruin a whole day. How does this happen? Because my team didn’t hold the line.
Here is the thing about pressure in a company and in a team — it rises up. EVERY person plays an important role in a company. Some are always on the offense and some are always on the defense. Some are doing both at the same time…those are your star players.
When I get hit with a hard tackle that causes me to stop looking forward and address an issue that should have been addressed by my offensive line I get upset……No, more than upset. I get MAD. I also get sad, because it means I’m left alone and unprotected.
If the quarterback can’t do their job, the team will inevitably lose. I need a team that can protect me so we can keep winning.
I would argue that the most critical positions are not the ones that get all the fame like the quarterback — they are the ones that are protecting the quarterback. They are the ones “holding the line” and not allowing the other team to pass. They are watching out for the quarterback’s blindside and they will physically refuse the competition to get near.
What are those called? The Tackle? The Guard? The Full Back? Truth is, I don’t know anything about football…….
However, I do know something about business and I’ll tell you right now that the #1 thing my team can do to “support” me is to protect me.
My team can protect me by “holding the line” with their own teams and the work they are responsible for. The reality is that it is easy to “passively” manage others. It is so easy in fact that this is what almost all managers (especially new ones) do by default. It takes time and energy and intensity to get managers to act in a new way….an accountable way.
Active management is a lot of work. It takes organization, strategy, and intensity. It includes thinking about 100 things at once, directing others, and then making sure it is done.
The “making sure it is done” is what I am talking about when I say “hold a line”.
What does it look like when the team is NOT “holding the line”? Instead of doing what a quarterback SHOULD be doing, they end up doing the work of others.
- It means the quarterback is following up to make sure the water boy was written up for the water jugs being empty last game because no one else seemed to notice.
- It means the quarterback is finding spelling errors in the press releases that were sent out while she was playing.
- It means the quarterback is planning the after-party game because no one else thought of it.
- It means the quarterback is researching market rate ticket prices for the upcoming games to make sure the new prices are competitive.
- It means the quarterback is calling a time out to make sure that lawn maintenance guy’s FMLA paperwork was filled out correctly as he just saw him watering the grass when is supposed to be at home.
- It means the quarterback is having to leave the prep rally to call the linen company to ask why there is a shortage of clean uniforms in the locker room because she is the only one that double checked.
It means that the quarterback is so busy following up with the work that everyone else on the team didn’t do instead of focusing on how to win the next game.
What IS “holding the line”?
It means the team is doing their job so well where there isn’t the opportunity for the quarterback to even think about the water jugs or the uniforms or the ticket prices. It means the quarterback isn’t planning parties or noticing spelling errors before someone else does. It means that their team is “holding the line” to make sure that all projects are done correctly and accurately so that the quarterback is protected from someone else’s work becoming their work.
Holding the line must be done at every level of a team. From the front line supervisor to the Chief Operating Officer. If one line “breaks” then it is like a falling line of dominoes….one by one until the strongest domino can stand still and push back and say “No. I will not go down with you. Pick yourself up and hold your place.”
You need EVERY domino to be a strong domino that can push the pressure back down.
What does this look like when you have your “game face” on?
It is a manager setting a deadline for Friday at 5pm to get a major project done. It is then checking in each day leading up to Friday to get the progress status report from your team. Are people on track? Are they hitting their benchmarks? If not, as the manager you are following up. You are sending out reminders of deadlines, you are asking the “why?” and “what?” questions….. What is keeping you from hitting the deadline? Why is the deadline not being hit? You then are tracking the responses and offering suggestions and guidance. You are then reviewing the work that is being submitted as it comes in for quality assurance. Is it what I asked for? If not, send it back for them to revise the work and try again. Hold The Deadline. Follow Through. No matter what.
Most of the time people are working and just need some prompts to get back on track. Yet, sometimes people simply don’t do what is being asked. That is a whole different ballgame and THAT follow up looks like this:
It is setting a deadline for Friday at 5pm to get a major project done. It is then following up at 5:30pm on a Friday night with your team telling the ones that didn’t do it that it is unacceptable and reminding them the project needs to be completed and received immediately. It is then following up with those that STILL didn’t do it by Saturday and issuing a corrective action, then if it happens again, you are following up with a Performance Improvement Plan and then following up with a full termination. That entire process may happen in a single day or less than a week. It should happen fast if you mean it.
Note how I use the example of Friday….doesn’t it always seem like a Friday night when these things happen? That sucks. Yes, it is frustrating for everyone. That said, if you as the supervisor are working on a Friday night trying to figure out why someone didn’t get their work done then you better believe that your direct report is working too….and working harder. The point is that nobody should be working on a Friday night because it should have been done in the first place.
Whatever the example, the point is that you as the leader are holding the line of a functional team. You are the stop gap of refusing to let that pressure rise so that I or anyone else will notice it. You are stopping the leaks and pushing the pressure back down to your team instead of letting it pass the line up to your supervisor. Expect your team to grow smarter, stronger, and faster as a result.
You can’t have a high performing team with low performers. The only way to get a high performing team is to comprise it of high performers. It is YOUR job as the manager to set the high expectation and then expect follow through.
What are you doing as a manager by “holding the line”? You are sending the message of: “This work is important and necessary. I mean what I say and I’m going to follow through”. By doing this you will earn trust with your team that you aren’t kidding when you set a deadline. You also send the message that you intend to create a functional work environment and hold EVERYONE to it. Not just 3/4 of the team, not 85% of the team, but 100% of the team. Your job as the manager is to set the standard and then hold everyone else to it.
Remember that greatness cannot be achieved with people that think hitting 75% of the goal is acceptable….or even worse that not hitting the goal at all is ok.
Here is the thing: Following Up and Following Through takes effort. It is not passively “sending an email” and calling the day done. It is not a response of “I asked them to do it”. It IS about chasing someone down and literally sitting with them until the project is done if that is what it takes. The point is that the ultimate deadline ends with YOU as the leader. How well you can hold a line and protect YOUR leader from stepping in is the secret for what makes you look impressive.
The truth about passive management?
- ANYONE can call out plays.
- ANYONE can have a “big idea” that they want to implement.
- ANYONE can set a deadline.
- ANYONE can say “this is really important”.
None of those things are helpful if you can’t commit to follow up and follow through. The only kind of management that is helpful and useful is active and accountable management. A manager that can’t hold a line is not actually a manager….at that point the are just a talker.
I don’t need talkers. I need “do-ers”.
Can you do this process as a manager without prompting from YOUR manager? That would be the ultimate sign of successful accountable leadership. Not only did you set the stage, implement the process and then MAKE SURE IT WAS DONE, but that you did it without someone else asking you to. You did it because you knew it was important and that it needed to be done. You knew that your job was to protect your leader from your workload bleeding into theirs.
To be an active and influential leader, you have to OWN the process, from start to finish, and all the points in between. You have to “hold a line” and see the process through. Add a sense of urgency to it and you will be my new best friend. You will hopefully get some fame too by catching the ball I was able to throw to you because I was free and clear to do it.
Teams work together and no one can do it alone. Every person has to own their part and own it with intensity. We can achieve the goal in lots of different ways as long as our team can trust each other and protect each other along the way. You can trust that I will always do my part as the CEO to recruit and retain the right team members. I will then protect you and protect the company with all my might. I’ll always give it 100%.
Whatever you do, don’t let me get tackled.
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