3 tips for following the LOR model for guiding people to success

There are many models for building great teams. One that works is the LOR model. You can provide inspiring leadership, give people a sense of ownership and do everything possible to ensure they deliver results. Imagine you are a leader. Let’s assume you have already made clear contracts with your sponsors about your accountability, autonomy and authority. You have the brief and mandate for achieving the picture of perfection. Let’s explore how you can use the LOR model for making this happen.

* You can provide inspiring leadership.

Great leaders communicate a compelling story. People obviously want money when they work, but they also want meaning. Great leaders communicate: a) The ‘What’ – the goals; b) The ‘Why’ - the benefits for the company, colleagues and customers; c) The ‘How’ – the strategy; d) The ‘Who’ – the roles people will be invited to play; e) The ‘When’ – the road map towards achieving the goals. They then invite people to choose whether they want to proactively opt-into the journey. Great teams are made-up of volunteers – not victims. So it is then up to the colleagues to show how they want to contribute towards achieving the picture of perfection.

Leadership obviously consists of more than communicating a compelling story. It calls for being a good model, making tough decisions and building fine teams. The first step, however, is to provide an inspiring vision. How can you do this in your own way? How can you communicate the story? How can you show people the benefits? How can you then invite people to consider whether they want to opt-in? Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to provide inspiring leadership are:

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* You give people a sense of ownership.

Great leaders give people a sense of ‘ownership within parameters’. They communicate the ‘What’ – the picture of perfection - and the ‘How’ - the key principles they want people to follow. They may say, for example:

“This is the ‘What’ – the results to be delivered. Our key strategies – the ‘How’ - focus on the ‘3 Ps’: profit, ‘product’ and people. We want you: 1) To be profitable: 2) To provide a superb ‘product’ – with customer satisfaction being at least 90%; 3) To hire and get the best from superb people – with the internal morale scores also being at least 90%. How you make this happen is, within parameters, up to you.

“There are, however, certain rules. We want each team to do three things: a) To show the specific contribution they want to make towards achieving the picture of perfection; b) To outline their road map – with milestones – along the road towards achieving the goals; c) To describe the support they need to do the job. We will then make clear contracts about each team’s contribution to the picture of perfection.”

Great leaders ensure that the managers follow a similar process within their own teams. The managers invite each person to make clear contracts about their best contribution to the team goals. The individuals must then keep their managers informed about their progress on the journey. People are given ownership – but it is within the parameters of pursuing certain key principles. Everybody can then channel their talents towards achieving the specific goals. You will have your own way of making this happen. So try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to give people a sense of ownership are:

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* You can ensure that people deliver results.

Great leaders do everything possible to ensure the team achieves success. They have the right people implementing the right strategy in the right way. Assuming they have communicated the strategy, they then go through the following steps.

a) They make sure they have right people.

Leaders are crystal-clear on the qualities they want people to demonstrate. They may aim, for example, to employ people who are positive, professional and prepared to work hard to be peak performers. Some of the toughest decisions are about people. But it is vital to get the right people in the right places – otherwise the team is sunk.

b) They make sure people implement the right strategy.

Leaders clarify and communicate the strategy. They then make clear contracts about each team’s – and each person’s – part in implementing the plan. They also give them the support to do the job.

c) They make sure people implement the strategy in the right way.

Leaders do this by continually asking each team – and the individuals within the team – to present their results. Every two months, for example, they ask each team to present: a) The specific things we have done in the past two months towards achieving the picture of perfection; b) The specific things we plan to do in the next two months towards achieving the picture of perfection; c) The challenges we face, the plans we have for tackling these challenges and the support we would like to do job. Leaders get people to proactively report back about the results they are delivering – the ‘What’. Paradoxically, this gives them greater ‘control’ - because they are judging people by their results – rather than by trying to micro-manage. People are expected to be adults and deliver – rather than be ‘supervised’.

Great leaders also build-in time for reflection – slow thinking – to get an overview and make sure the business is on track. Such ‘course correction’ sometimes calls for making tough decisions. They do whatever is necessary, however, to guide the team to success. You will do this in your own way. Try completing the following sentence.

The specific things I can do to ensure that people deliver results are:

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There are many ways to climb a mountain. Similarly, there are many ways to build fine teams. The LOR approach is one way to guide your people to success.