Leadership model

Materials for a workshop on leadership.

1. Leadership Workshop
March 25, 2011

2. Why a Leadership Model?
•Develop a shared vision of what we aspire to as
leaders
•Provide focus and direction on how to realize the
vision
•Provide an objective framework for measuring
progress
•Define what success looks like
2

3. The Model
Qualities
Competencies
Behaviors
What we aspire to
What we
develop
What success
looks like
Inspiration
Coaching and
Feedback
Modeling
Leader Employee
3

4. Qualities - what we aspire to
•Authenticity – sincere commitment to
– Strategy, goals, vision of the broader organization
– People
– Near term business objectives
– Durable, positive change
•Vision – 360-degree view and vision that integrates that view
–Goals, strategic direction and decisions take into account
•Direction from senior leadership
•Alignment with peers, partners, stakeholders
•Team capabilities, capacity, and development
•Acknowledgement – sincere and informed
–Acknowledgement of contributions and individual value at all levels
–Respect for chain of command, but not dependent on it
–Genuine openness to feedback and showing influence of others
–Inclusive decision-making
4

5. Qualities – what we aspire to
•Inspiration – to develop as well as to deliver
–Personal and emotional
–Constant, irresistible challenge
•Rigor – clear and demanding expectations
–Strength of leader / employee relationship supports di!cult messages
–“Hi-fidelity” message on what meeting and exceeding expectations means
•Resilience – source of strength in di!cult times
–Composure and confidence
–Consistent positive attitude
•Impact – driving significant and positive change
–Focused and practical innovation
–Changing the rules of the game
–Winning in the marketplace
•Integrity – an example to emulate
5

6. So how do we do this?

Leadership Competencies

7. Leadership Competencies
Proactive
Strategic thinking
Building and leveraging relationships
Talent development
Financial and business acumen

Execution
Turning strategies into workable plans
Driving results
Communication

Responsive
Managing conflict
Sound judgment
Functional expertise

7

8. Leadership Competencies - Proactive
Competency What it means High Performing Low Performing
Strategic Thinking
Developing long-term
plans
Anticipating problems
Integrating diverse teams
and initiatives
Team has a strategic plan
and is following the plan
Problem-solving always
takes a wide view
Instrumental in strategy
beyond own team
No plan beyond immediate
deliverables
Surprised by problems
Bad decisions due to lack of
strategic vision
Building and
leveraging
relationships
Identifying stakeholders
Establishing credibility
Establishing trust
Consistent positive intent
No relationship gaps
Asks for – and gets – help
when needed
Consistently finds win-win
Chronic problems with
groups or individuals
Unaware of problems
Unwilling to help
Talent
development
Attracting and retaining
top talent
Managing individual
development
Building high-performing
teams
Consistent recruiting and
retention success
All team members actively
developing
Exemplary PD
Surprised by attrition
Bad hiring or promotion
decisions
“Ceremonial” PD
Financial and
business acumen
Understanding key
business drivers
Basics of financial
management
Sound accounting
Anticipates P & L impacts
Fast and accurate response
to financial queries
Strong negotiating skills
Unable to discern minor
from major business issues
Loose control over team
financials
8

9. Leadership Competencies - Execution
Competency What it means High Performing Low Performing
Turning strategies
into workable
plans
Developing programs and
projects according to a
strategic plan
Negotiating scope and
requirements to assure
high-value delivery
Strategic vision is clearly
reflected in day-to-day
execution
No surprises or “anti-
strategic” delivery
Heroics not required
Over-promising and under-
delivering
Crippled, low-value delivery
Chronic over-subscription
of team – heroics required
Driving results
Marshalling resources
and motivating team to
consistently deliver
Overcoming obstacles to
“get it done”
Consistently delivers fully
on commitments
Handles all problems,
regardless of source
Always finds a way to full
success
Fails to consistently meet
commitments fully
Takes path of least
resistance instead of
attacking problems
Too easily satisfied
Communication
Delivering key messages
to stakeholders
Messages are tailored to
context and audience –
right message, right time,
right medium
Team is well-informed
Key messages are
internalized and repeated
by stakeholders
Misunderstandings are very
rare
No surprises due to failure
to communicate
Team understands leader
Others are often asked to
clarify intent
Key stakeholders are often
not informed of events that
impact them
Team has trouble
understanding leadership
direction
9

10. Leadership Competencies - Responsive
Competency What it means High Performing Low Performing
Managing conflict
Anticipating or resolving
conflicts among
colleagues before they
result in team or business
impacts
Anticipates problems that
will lead to conflicts and
seeks to proactively resolve
them
Addresses conflicts directly
and constructively
Naively pursues actions that
will lead to avoidable
conflict
Avoids constructive conflict
resolution
Escalates needlessly
Sound judgment
Consistently making
decisions that take into
account all relevant
considerations
Optimizing on the right
things at the right time
Decisions consistently
withstand the test of time
Actions, decisions and
communication always fit
together - integrity
Regularly consulted
Decisions often based on
incomplete information or
faulty reasoning
Often fails to see the full
picture
Inconsistent, unpredictable
leadership
Functional
expertise
Business and/or technical
knowledge required for a
leader’s area of
responsibility
Special skills required to
lead in this area
Can speak clearly to
technical issues
Understands experts and
provides strong functional
leadership
Trusted advisor in
functional area
Has only a vague idea of
what team does in detail
Cannot speak to details
independently
Struggles with technical
decision-making
10

11. Summary
Behaviors are high-level,
observable, repeated actions that
show leadership strength
Competencies are the building
blocks required for strong
leadership. They provide an
objective basis for development
planning, coaching, feedback and
leadership performance
assessment.
Qualities express our vision of
how we want to lead. To achieve
this vision, we need to develop
the competencies and practice
the behaviors
Qualities
Competencies
Behaviors
11

12. Expectations
•At least once a month, each employee will have a focused discussion
with his or her leader including
–Progress toward goals, resetting expectations or adjusting priorities as necessary
–Progress on development plan, discussing any changes or new opportunities
–Employee needs (e.g. support from other teams, resources, strategic guidance)
–Clear and actionable feedback
•Leaders will strive to model high-performing behaviours
•Leaders will share accountability for our progress
•We will become a place to grow great leaders as well as great technical
talent
12

13. Developing Leadership Competencies
•Developing leadership competencies requires focus and commitment from both
leaders and colleagues
–Leader needs to call out development opportunities and provide coaching and development
opportunities
–Employee needs to recognize importance of all competencies and commit to development
–Dialog between leader and employee needs to regularly focus on leadership development
–Peers and other leaders need to support and acknowledge leadership development across the
organization
•Leadership development training opportunities should be fully leveraged as
part of development plans
•Development actions should extend beyond formal training to include
situational coaching, mentoring, and leader-supported development
opportunities
•Development opportunities in di"erent competencies require di"erent
approaches
•Di"erent individuals have di"erent learning styles and receptiveness
•There is no “one size fits all” approach to leadership development
13

14. Developing Leadership Competencies - Proactive
Competency Low Performing High Performing Developing
Strategic Thinking
No plan beyond immediate
deliverables
Surprised by problems
Bad decisions due to lack of
strategic vision
Team has a strategic plan
and is following the plan
Problem-solving always
takes a wide view
Instrumental in strategy
beyond own team
Recognize and reward
strategic engagement
Hold employee accountable
for decisions
Create opportunities to
take broader view
Building and
leveraging
relationships
Chronic problems with
groups or individuals
Unaware of problems
Unwilling to help
No relationship gaps
Asks for – and gets – help
when needed
Consistently finds win-win
Assess key relationships
Action 360 feedback
Identify role model/mentor
Situational coaching
Talent
development
Surprised by attrition
Bad hiring or promotion
decisions
“Ceremonial” PD
Consistent recruiting and
retention success
All team members actively
developing
Exemplary PD
Talent reviews
Review PD plans and
reviews constructively
Feedback from skip-levels
Personal development
Financial and
business acumen
Unable to discern minor
from major business issues
Loose control over team
financials
Anticipates P & L impacts
Fast and accurate response
to financial queries
Strong negotiating skills
Hold employee accountable
for financials
Business / finance mentor
Challenge with
opportunities to contribute
to financial strategy
14

15. Proactive Competencies – Employee Development
Competency Employee Development
Strategic Thinking
Reserve time for strategic planning by yourself (at least once a week, for at least
one hour to start, building to 4 hrs / wk minimum)
Ask your leader and colleagues for sample strategic plans or roadmaps that have
been successfully implemented – use as examples, not recipes
Identify a small number (<10) of strategic objectives for yourself and/or your team
and measure each decision you make or initiative you start against these
objectives. Challenge yourself and your team to “explain” on a weekly basis
everything they are doing in relation to these objectives.
Building and
leveraging
relationships
Conduct a “relationship inventory” and review with your leader
Solicit and action 360 feedback
Identify a relationship role model/mentor
Track frequency and e!ectiveness of contacts with key “relationship partners”
Talent development
Reserve su!cient time for e"ective talent review and discussion with your leader
Solicit feedback from your leader and your team members on the e"ectiveness of
the PD reviews that you write and deliver
Demonstrate commitment to your own development and that of your team
Financial and business
acumen
Take initiative to acquire and take ownership of financials for an area, activity or
supplier
Identify a business / finance mentor
Review company financials and ask questions of your leader or finance liaison
Business or finance training classes
15

16. Leadership Competencies - Execution
Competency Low Performing High Performing Developing
Turning strategies
into workable
plans
Over-promising and under-
delivering
Crippled, low-value delivery
Chronic over-subscription
of team – heroics required
Strategic vision is clearly
reflected in day-to-day
execution
No surprises or “anti-
strategic” delivery
Heroics not required
Regular initiative reviews
Provide examples of
implementation plans
Situational coaching on
negotiating scope
Management training
Driving results
Fails to consistently meet
commitments fully
Takes path of least
resistance instead of
attacking problems
Too easily satisfied
Consistently delivers fully
on commitments
Handles all problems,
regardless of source
Always finds a way to full
success
Clear goals
Prompt feedback on results
360 feedback from
“customers”
Monthly reviews
Communication
Others are often asked to
clarify intent
Key stakeholders are often
not informed of events that
impact them
Team has trouble
understanding leadership
direction
Key messages are
internalized and repeated
by stakeholders
Misunderstandings are very
rare
No surprises due to failure
to communicate
Team understands leader
Observable editing
Immediate communication
feedback
Practice, practice, practice
Recording / playback
Skip-level playback
Communications training
16

17. Execution Competencies – Employee Development
Competency Employee Development
Turning strategies into
workable plans
Ensure regular initiative reviews and solicit feedback from leader, team and other
stakeholders
Weekly portfolio assessment with focus on plan variances (schedule, scope, budget)
and “variance RCA” (identify root causes and “remediations”)
PMI or other management training classes
Monthly strategic review with leader, focused on plan/strategy alignment
Monthly review with team of workload and planning e"ectiveness
Driving results
Explicit, detailed, regular (weekly) updates with leader on goals
Regular (weekly) partner / stakeholder updates emphasizing specific
accomplishments and deliverables
360 feedback from “customers”
Solicit feedback from leader and stakeholders after monthly reviews
Identify a “delivery mentor”
Communication
Reserve enough time to iterate communications through draft and review by leader
or communications mentor
Solicit immediate feedback after communications
Ask team members / audience to summarize key points of your communications (to
observe what may be missed or misinterpreted)
Develop communication plans for major initiatives (volunteer to help on cross-team
communications)
Communications training classes
17

18. Leadership Competencies - Responsive
Competency Low Performing High Performing Developing
Managing conflict
Naively pursues actions
that will lead to avoidable
conflict
Avoids constructive conflict
resolution
Escalates needlessly
Anticipates problems that
will lead to conflicts and
seeks to proactively resolve
them
Addresses conflicts directly
and constructively
Call attention to conflict
Provide specific and
immediate feedback
Set specific conflict
resolution goals
Provide relevant examples
Sound judgment
Decisions often based on
incomplete information or
faulty reasoning
Often fails to see the full
picture
Inconsistent, unpredictable
leadership
Decisions consistently
withstand the test of time
Actions, decisions and
communication always fit
together - integrity
Regularly consulted
Constructive questioning
Share details of good
decision-making via
examples
Progressively increase
scope of decision-making
responsibility
Functional
expertise
Has only a vague idea of
what team does in detail
Cannot speak to details
independently
Struggles with technical
decision-making
Can speak clearly to
technical issues
Understands experts and
provides strong functional
leadership
Trusted advisor in
functional area
Identify technical mentor
Assign progressively more
technical communications
tasks
Develop specific technical
learning plan and track
progress regularly
Constructive questioning
18

19. Responsive Competencies – Employee Development
Competency Employee Development
Managing conflict
Relationship inventory assessments with leader
Escalation checklist (Is escalation necessary? Have you addressed issue directly
before escalating? Is context and medium of escalation appropriate? How will
escalation be perceived?)
Action impact checklist (Does action impact other groups / individuals? Will
communication plan prevent misunderstandings / unnecessary conflicts?)
Sound judgment
Leverage mentor / trusted advisor and observe thought process, not just
recommendation
Review impact of all significant decisions with leader, applying critical hindsight
Decision checklist (How does this decision support our strategic plan? How is it
consistent with other decisions that I and others on the leadership team have
made? What will it look like 6 months from now? A year from now? 2 years…?)
Functional expertise
Leverage technical mentor(s) and work with them to develop learning program
Take on technical communication tasks, supported by mentors / SMEs
Over-prepare for updates and presentations, measuring yourself on how you
respond to questions
Perform “personal RCA” on knowledge gaps and adjust learning program to address
identified gaps immediately. Track “incidents” with leader.
19

20. Development Planning – Whole Employee View
Engagement
Job Knowledge
Leadership
Leadership is what drives the
future – both for the employee
and the organization as a whole
Job Knowledge is what we
consume on a daily basis – needs
to stay current and also fuel the
pump
Engagement is the pump –
motivates and drives
development
20

21. Development Plan Questions
•Does the plan make progress on leadership competencies?
–Which competencies and how?
–Does the plan address the leadership areas of opportunity identified in PD?
•Does the plan enhance technical knowledge and skills?
–How exactly – i.e., what skills and knowledge and why are these valuable?
–How will we assess progress?
•Does the plan promise to improve engagement?
–What parts of the plan will be most interesting to the employee?
–What parts of the plan open new doors?
–What parts of the plan may improve engagement of other colleagues?
21

22. Monitoring Development – “KPIs”
•Examples of leadership competency improvement (or challenge)
–Link and label these for the employee and tie back to development plan
•Informal assessment of tech knowledge / opportunities to demonstrate
–Use probing, but supportive, questioning to assess progress
–Provide opportunities to present ideas / make decisions / produce deliverables
•Formal certifications
•Accomplishments
–Link and label, tying back to development plan and actions
•Is discretionary time being applied to development activities?
–Look for signs of interest / self-motivation and if lacking, revisit the plan
•Is employee actively sharing / exercising new knowledge and skills?
–Recognize and reward
•Is employee participating more actively in team activities and meetings
22

23. Evaluating Training Options
•Does the training contribute significantly to leadership, technical and engagement goals in
development plans?
–How does the training fit into individual development plans?
–How does the training contribute to group / organizational development goals?
•What is the “useful life” of the training?
–Is it immediately valuable? If not, when will employee(s) leverage it?
–How long will it deliver value for the employee(s)?
•How much primary value is provided by the training itself?
–Does the training provide a unique opportunity that is not available via self-study or other means?
–Is the training time- and resource - e!cient?
•How much secondary value does the training provide?
–Can the benefits of the training be shared more broadly beyond those directly involved? If yes, is there a
commitment to do so?
–Does the training enable new business or technical opportunities for the organization as a whole?
23

24. Evaluating Stretch Assignments
•Does the assignment contribute significantly to leadership, technical and engagement goals for
the individual(s)?
–How does the assignment fit into individual development plans?
–How does the assignment contribute to group / organizational development goals?
•How will development be supported via the assignment?
–What are the specific development objectives associated with the assignment?
–How will development be monitored and supported?
–What are the key success or risk indicators?
•What is the opportunity cost associated with the assignment?
–Is there a potential productivity cost? Are we prepared to compensate for any such cost?
–What other areas of development may be negatively impacted by the assignment?
•How will the assignment be integrated into the individuals PD plan and assessment?
–How will the “stretch” nature of the assignment be weighed in assessing performance?
–What are the performance risks associated with the assignment and are these risks understood and accepted by
all parties?
24

25. Development Plan Example 1
•Technology and operations leader with solutions delivery, risk and control, QA,
operations and business leadership responsibility
–Significant gaps in understanding of key technical and operational areas – e.g. ETL, account
processing
–Gaps in currency of knowledge on emerging payments technologies and business models
–Leadership competencies dimensions for improvement: communication, financial and business
acumen, functional expertise
•Key components of development plan
–Attend Financial Services Technology Summit
–Attend Emerging Tech Conference
–Self-study Amazon, PayPal infrastructure, APIs, and applications
–Engage Corporate Communications to focus on team communications
–Leverage deep dives, system documentation and team resources to learn ETL and end-to-end
account processing
–Self-study emerging distributed computing paradigms (cut through cloud hype and fog)
–Detailed review of monthly BCUS and division financial results, leveraging experts in finance to
answer questions and improve comprehension
25

26. Development Plan Example 2
•Technical operations individual contributor with leadership aspirations,
interested in broader operations roles and database operations in particular
–Strong knowledge of Microsoft desktop and server products
–No Unix knowledge or experience
–No prior people leadership experience
–Limited knowledge of BCUS business
–Leadership competencies dimensions for improvement: communication, financial and business
acumen, talent development, strategic thinking, turning strategies into plans, managing
relationships
•Key components of development plan
–Microsoft SQL Server training (3-day o"site)
–Stretch assignment on Unix server build team
–PMI (project management) certification training course
–Oracle DBA fundamentals training (self-study courseware)
26

27. Development Plan Exercise
For each example – and a third “volunteered” if possible
1.Review the development plan and point out any obvious significant gaps
2.Formulate a list of questions to be answered by the employee and leader
3.Assess the value of the plan by answering the Development Plan Questions
4.Assess training and stretch assignments
5.Develop a plan for monitoring and evaluating e"ectiveness of the plan
27

28. Assessing Leadership Competencies -
Principles
•Assessments should call out characteristics of high and low performance and
support these by specific examples
•Examples should be representative and assessment should not focus on
isolated incidents or uncharacteristic behaviours
•Examples of exceeding expectations should be “exemplary” – i.e., they should
serve as examples for those developing the competency to follow
•Competency should be assessed over the entire assessment period, without
undue weight applied to recent or most “visible” events
•Leadership competencies are meant to be universal (i.e. applicable to all roles),
but the means of demonstrating competencies are di"erent for di"erent roles
and levels of responsibility
•Leaders should provide a complete assessment and ensure that the full
assessment is understood
28

29. Assessing Leadership Competencies -
Proactive
Competency
Meets
Expectations
Exceeds
Expectations
Significantly
Exceeds
Strategic Thinking
Team has a strategic plan
No “anti-strategic” decisions
Leader and team are
appropriately engaged in
strategic decision-making
Strategic plans or ideas are
distinctive, including original
and non-obvious ideas
Team is motivated and directed
by strategic vision
Several key strategic decisions
made or influenced
Transformational advances in
strategy and direction
Strategic impact beyond team
Recognized by partners,
industry or other external
sources as strategic thought
leader
Building and
leveraging
relationships
Adequate working relationship
with all key stakeholders
Recognizes relationship issues
and deals with them adequately
Meets peers support
expectations
Strong trust and working
relationships with all key
stakeholders
Counted on by peers for
support
Consistently finds win-win
Recognized by colleagues as
great collaborator
Exceptional relationship
development successes
Talent
development
No preventable regrettable
attrition
PD reviews meet expectations
Team members have
development plans
Team is highly engaged
PD exceeds expectations
Multiple employee development
successes
Strong, proactive talent
management
Team shows exceptional
engagement
PD significantly exceeds
Leader is recognized as great
mentor / development resource
Exceptional talent planning
Financial and
business acumen
Understanding of BCUS
financials adequate to role
Adequate control over team
financials / financial impacts of
team actions
Meets all tracking / reporting
requirements
Anticipates P & L impacts
Fast and accurate response to
financial queries
Strong negotiating skills
Material contribution to
meeting BTG/BCUS financial
goals
Demonstrates broad knowledge
of BCUS business and team
impact on the business
Recognized as financial
management role model
Exceptional contribution to
financial analysis and/or goals
29

30. Assessing Leadership Competencies -
Execution
Competency Meets Expectations
Exceeds
Expectations
Significantly
Exceeds
Turning strategies
into workable
plans
Meets delivery expectations
Team is consistently tasked,
but not over-subscribed
Stakeholders are satisfied with
delivery and agree it is aligned
with mutually understood
strategy
Strategic vision is clearly
reflected in day-to-day
execution
No surprises or “anti-strategic”
delivery
Heroics not required by team
Delivery on strategic initiatives
exceeds expectations
Distinguished leadership
executing strategic agenda
Recognized as “goto” leader for
strategic initiatives
Maximum strategic leverage of
resources beyond own team
Turns strategic challenges into
opportunities and exploits
them
Driving results
Generally meets commitments,
with any misses aligned with
stakeholders
Provides clear direction and
supports team in execution
Has appropriate expectations
self and team and ensures
these expectations are met
Consistently delivers fully on
commitments
Overcomes non-trivial
obstacles to delivering results
Sets high standards for self and
team and motivates team to
deliver at a higher level
Exceeds expectations on goals
Significantly exceeds
expectations in results delivery
Manages through complex and
di!cult execution challenges
Makes durable improvements
to results delivery beyond own
team
Drives exceptional business
value
Communication
Communications to team and
stakeholders are clear and
su!cient
Team understands leadership
direction
Stakeholders impacted by
actions of team are provided
su!cient advance notice
Key messages are internalized
and repeated by stakeholders
Misunderstandings are very
rare
No surprises due to failure to
communicate
Di!cult communications
handled e"ectively
Communications are influential
and lead to consistent and
reinforcing messages
Leader is recognized as an
e"ective communicator
Exceptional communications
drive business value beyond
own team
30

31. Assessing Leadership Competencies - Responsive
Competency Meets Expectations
Exceeds
Expectations
Significantly
Exceeds
Managing conflict
Manages day-to-day team and
interpersonal contacts
adequately
Escalates appropriately,
attempting to resolve conflicts
first
Anticipates problems that will
lead to conflicts and seeks to
proactively resolve them
Addresses conflicts directly and
constructively
Provides strong collaborative
leadership example to team
Turns challenging team or
interpersonal conflicts into
opportunities
Drives durable change in
people, process or technology
issues at the root of persistent
conflicts
Sound judgment
Decisions generally well-
considered and based on
adequate information and
analysis
Consistent leadership
(decisions make sense to team
and stakeholders)
Decisions consistently hold up
to questioning before and after
the fact
Actions, decisions and
communication always fit
together
Regularly consulted by peers
and other colleagues
All decisions – including several
di!cult and complex examples
– hold up to scrutiny
Exceptional balance of strategic
and tactical
Recognized by peers for
exceptional competency in this
dimension
Functional
expertise
Can provide adequate level of
detail in describing functional
tasks and responsibilities
Makes technical decisions
e"ectively
Can respond quickly and
accurately to requests for
information
Can speak clearly and with
authority to technical issues
Understands experts and
provides strong functional
leadership
Trusted advisor in functional
area
Recognized expert in area of
responsibility – both internally
and externally (incl partners,
suppliers, industry, etc.)
Drives high-value durable and
strategic change by leveraging
functional expertise
31

32. Special Challenges for Technical Leaders
Competency Challenge Strategies
Managing conflict
Conflicts are often due to
misunderstandings / lack of shared
understanding of technical issues
Take extra time to ensure that
stakeholders have a shared
understanding of all relevant
technical facts
Sound judgment
Decisions often have multi-year impact
and are not reversible without great
expense
Make sure you fully understand the
long-term impact of your decisions
and do not allow near-term pressure
to cause you to make hasty decisions
without full facts and analysis. Use
your leader.
Functional expertise
There is too much to know. It is not
possible to truly be an expert in all
areas that touch on your area of
responsibility.
Establish strong mastery of
fundamentals and focus on
developing your ability to rapidly
learn on as-needed basis.
Learn “vicariously” through your
team, external contacts, and
colleagues.
32

33. Special Challenges for Technical Leaders
(cont).
Competency Challenge Strategies
Building and leveraging
relationships
Stakeholders with whom you need to
build relationships are generally
clueless technically and have di"erent
interests
Rely less on work context as the
source of shared interest / informal
interaction
Talent development
Technical talent development planning
and assessment for some team
members may require knowledge that
you do not have
Leverage other team members and
external resources; ask questions
Turning Strategies into
Workable Plans
Best laid technical implementation
plans often run into problems, causing
implementation to stray from strategy
or intent
Ask probing questions regularly and
aggressively so you learn of
“divergence” early and get early and
open dialog to happen when issues
occur. If necessary, revisit the
strategy.
Communication
It is hard to get technical people
motivated to develop communications
and hard to get nontechnical
audiences to pay attention to them,
so…
Recognize and reward concise,
interesting, communications from
your team and hold stakeholders
accountable for receiving them
33

34. Prioritization and Planning – Problem Statement
Leader
“Nothing is getting done”
“We’re overrun!”Stakeholders Team
Heroics
Required
Lack of Vision
Impossible to
plan
Resource
overloads
Resource
underloads
Resource
Overloads
Unplanned, uncoordinated
“astrategic” workload
Constant Escalation Demands directed
randomly
No apparent
strategy
Lack of trust
34

35. How We Would Like Things to Be…
LeaderHow others
think of us How we think
of ourselves
We always deliver
We respond
We win in the marketplace
We add value
We are strategic partners
We drive competitive advantage
We make things happen
We have the right resources at the right time
We have a plan
We do the right thing
We develop our people
We give heads up to partners
We continuously improve
We have consistent
work/life balance
We say “yes we can!”
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36. Building Blocks – Organizational Capabilities
Time tracking
Forecasting and sizing
Prioritization and planning
Strategic
alignment
Metrics and reporting
Roadmap development and
alignment process
Prioritization process
Capacity planning tools
Historical data & models
Time tracking system
1
0
2
3
4
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37. Understanding Team Capacity
•When setting up time tracking, resist the temptation to create large buckets for
“BAU” – you need to understand the components of this
•Use historical data to designate “Run the Engine” (RTE) or “BAU” activities and
carve out capacity for these. Aim should be to continuously improve e!ciency
so these activities can be executed at lower cost.
•Set “utilization targets” for subteams and/or individuals, expressing the
proportion of time resources can be allocated to non-RTE work
•Where possible, link RTE demand to business drivers and forecast accordingly
•Capacity for non-RTE work – what you spend most of your prioritization time
and energy to – is what remains when RTE demand has been forecasted
•Where possible, implement a variable resourcing model that allows “fixed” FTE
resources to be augmented by “variable” resources that can go up and down as
demand fluctuates
•To make “variabilization” work, forecasting must be accurate
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38. Leadership Competencies for Prioritization and
Planning
Proactive
Strategic thinking
Building and leveraging
relationships
Talent development
Financial and business
acumen

Execution
Turning strategies into
workable plans
Driving results
Communication

Responsive
Managing conflict
Sound judgment
Functional expertise

Strategic alignment
Hard conversations
Resource planning
Prioritization
Initiative planning
Meeting forecasts
Metrics, reporting, alignment
Prioritization
Planning
Planning, forecasting, strategy
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