Three Themes Leaders Can’t Ignore Heading into Year-End

As fall arrives and organizations focus on achieving their Q4 objectives, Blue Birch Consulting is actively engaged. While each client and organizational need is distinct, I've noticed recurring themes that may resonate with your team’s challenges.

Theme #1: Navigating Constant Change

A prevalent topic is the rapid pace of change and the challenges leaders face in keeping up. Specifically, leaders are struggling to adapt to evolving organizational needs, which impact employee coaching. They also find it difficult to allocate time and space to communicate shifting priorities and support their teams effectively. This highlights the importance of understanding one's own relationship with change and helping employees navigate their feelings about it.

We utilize the William Bridges change model to illustrate the "bridge" individuals must cross to accept change. The start of the bridge represents letting go of old ways (endings), the bridge itself is the uncertain journey from old to new (transitions), and the other side signifies the new, uncharted territory (beginnings). Leaders must recognize that each person crosses this bridge at their own pace and their role is to provide support through consistent communication, open listening, and ongoing encouragement. 

Theme #2: Achieving More with Fewer Resources

Another common theme is the need to "do more with less," whether due to limited time, budget or people. When this comes up, we focus on how time is being spent and whether efforts are directed at the right priorities. Many clients get bogged down in executing too many of the tasks themselves, often because they excel at certain tasks and continue doing them, or they hesitate to overburden their teams, maintaining old habits despite increased demands.

My suggestions include:

• Delegate more: Empower others to learn and grow through challenging work, which develops their skills and frees up your time for more strategic tasks.

• Assess time usage: Encourage leaders and their employees to evaluate how they spend their time. We then collaborate to identify smarter ways of working, giving them greater control over their schedules.

• Set boundaries: Establish clear boundaries around meetings and protect essential blocks of time for critical work.

• Re-evaluate team or company objectives to be sure the work being done is aligned with the organizational priorities.

Understanding better time management is key to this process. Further details about this subject can be found here. 

Theme #3: Fostering Team Collaboration

Improving team collaboration is a persistent organizational challenge. Often, issues stem from lack of trust and/or avoiding difficult conversations, particularly regarding accountability, leading to unclear responsibilities and a culture of passive acceptance. Ineffective, unclear, and unconstructive communication further hinders progress, causing misunderstandings, duplication of effort, and frustration.

High-performing teams are crucial for organizational success, driving innovation and achieving strategic goals. Conversely, underperforming teams drain resources and impede progress.

To foster true collaboration, organizations must address the root causes of team dynamics. This involves identifying underlying communication breakdowns and accountability gaps, potentially through team optimization sessions, clear communication protocols, and/or decision-making and goal-tracking frameworks. A collective commitment to psychological safety, mutual respect, and a shared purpose transforms individuals into cohesive, high-performing units.

Communicating clear expectations is a key component of successful collaboration. Looking for guidance on the subject? Find it here. 

I'm currently focused on these topics in my leadership coaching and team consulting work. If these challenges resonate with your organization, contact Blue Birch Consulting to learn how we can help.