The 4 Missing Conversations That Disrupt Execution

Without execution, ‘vision’ is just another word for hallucination.  – Mark V. Hurd

When we declare our vision, or when we coordinate action with our teams, we can have all of the pieces in place. The right ideas, the right conversations, clarity on who is doing what, and in the end, we still find dissatisfaction.

All of the right pieces in place are for not if we don’t take it to the stage of “execution,” or action. What we find many times shows up are the conversations that were missing. Sometimes, it is the unfolding world of new requests and promises that change the course or prior commitments.

“I can’t get you the report by Friday, but I can get it to you by Tuesday.” While this may be a sufficient counteroffer to a request we make of our teams, as we identified in the previous Conversation for Action post, the following stage identifies the next place where we can miss in coordination.

After the negotiation stage, which includes a trustworthy promise based on 1 of 4 moves, we transition into the execution stage. For many professionals, execution is an obvious step but what isn’t obvious are the areas where we must put our attention if we are to see action through to meaningful outcomes.

What we find many times is that after an agreement is made, a team goes off to perform the tasks or project at hand, and the leader goes off in her direction to take care of other responsibilities.

The missing conversations are the areas that must show up as a practice when we reach the execution stage. If you’re leading a team, working on a team, or coaching a team, these conversations help you assess whether your team and you will deliver as promised.

The following are conversations for you to put your attention on:

Being in these conversations with your team is only a small part of your execution phase, and a great place to begin. For execution to be truly effective, we need to be open to include the conversations around what shows up, which are mostly those that teams and leaders are either unwilling to have, or don’t see but they are impacting the ability or quality of execution.

For example, is your team faced with additional requests that they don’t feel comfortable negotiating?

Do they know how to assess what is needed and what is missing to execute effectively?

What is the mood that is showing up in the team that may be impacting execution?

Practicing the conversations to manage agreements, action, and coordination are skills you can build to lead your team more effectively. These conversational skills in the stages of the Conversation for Action, are foundational to generating results that matter.

Ready to explore how you can elevate your game and generate results that matter to everyone?

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< Click here to read the previous post for the Conversation for Action.