Make the Noise Go Away

by Larry G. Linne

You took all three issues and not only managed them, but you kept me informed.

You extracted what was important to me, and you gave frequent communication on the activity and progress in those areas.

UPWARD COMMUNICATION First-in-Command Duties o Identify and communicate what is keeping him or her up at night. o Look at weekly updates to stay informed. Second-in-Command Duties o Ask what is keeping the first-in-command up at night. o Observe what the first-in-command is focusing on and where he or she spends his time. o Proactively communicate updates and changes in areas keeping the first-in-command up at night. o Make sure to communicate in the form most effective for the first-in-command.

great leaders teach their employees to bring them solutions and not just their problems.

A Problem Solver First-in-Command Duties o Give the second-in-command freedom to make decisions, but oversee effectiveness of the decisions o Don’t solve problems for others Second-in-Command Duties o The second-in-command needs to thoroughly assess the consequences of his/her decisions o The second-in-command should be willing to mentor subordinates on “consequence decision making” o Encourage employees to consider alternative solutions and their positive as well as negative consequences before bringing the issue to their supervisor “Well, Jim, do these items summarize our thoughts accurately?” “Yeah, and all this thinking has made me awfully thirsty. What do you say we grab some cool lemonade and rest our brains for a spell?” “Couldn’t agree with you more. And I think my marker is drying up!”

Doing What I Enjoy and What I Do Best First-in-Command Duties o Identify unique abilities and natural talents o Share these abilities and talents with the second-in-command o Monitor my activities to make sure I am staying inside of these abilities and talents the majority of the time o Trade off duties with the second-in-command to establish highest and best use of talent Second-in-Command Duties o Identify unique abilities and natural talents o Share these abilities and talents with the first-in-command o Monitor yours and the first-in-command’s activities to make sure you are both staying inside of these talents the majority of the time o Manage the trade-off of duties

Keeping Priorities First-in-Command Duties o Think of new ideas. o Pass off the new ideas to the second-in-command. o Allow the process of categorization to work. o Remember that not all ideas are good ideas. Second-in-Command Duties o Categorize new ideas in Now, No, Later files o Spend the time to make sure the Now items fit the strategic plan and are developed and implemented. o Build a file for the Later items to give confidence to the first-in-command that the items will be brought up at the right time. o Kill the No ideas but be sensitive to the first-in-command’s “ownership” of those ideas. o Encourage the first-in-command to bring new ideas. Brett looked at his watch. He couldn’t believe it was time for dinner. “This afternoon has gone fast. Let’s get cleaned up and go to that nice steak house in town.” “I think I’ll put that in the NOW column.” Jim headed toward the bedroom to clean up. Brett just stood there smiling in response to Jim’s crative humor. He loved working for Jim, and quick remarks like that were part of the reason why.

Aligning with Owner Values First-in-Command Duties o Define the values of the organization. o Give clarity to the second-in-command of the vision of leadership and the behaviors he expects to see as normal. Second-in-Command Duties o Communicate how these values translate to the day-to-day operations of the organization. o Meet with the rest of the organization to communicate the values that will form the desired culture.

Lose Sleep and Show You Care First-in-Command Duties o Give appreciation and praise when you see this behavior and feel safe. o Don’t be disappointed or get frustrated if employees don’t show the same level of care and dedication to the business. Second-in-Command Duties o Give the perception of caring about the business. o Be proactive in showing you care.

Make the Company Look Good First-in-Command o Give the second-in-command opportunities to make the company look good. o Recognize and show appreciation for the second-in-command when he or she does a good job of making the company look good. o Realize you have accomplished something when your second-in-command stands out. Second-in-Command o Be proactive in finding ways to make the company and the first-in-command look good. o Don’t forget who gave you the opportunity to look good. o Create very high-quality presentations and go overboard in making the company look great.

Spend Time with Clients First-in-Command Duties o Go see clients according to the plan we create. o Hold the second-in-command accountable to proactively see clients. o Seek to find out what is keeping your clients up at night. o Communicate to your employees what you learn from being with clients. Second-in-Command Duties o Build a client visit calendar to make sure we are purposeful in client visits. o Communicate to all key managers and salespeople when they are supposed to see the clients. o Hold everyone accountable to follow the plan. o Go see clients yourself and communicate to the organization what you learn.

The first point he realized was that he had to maintain a trusting relationship with Jim. This trust would be protected and reiterated with frequent communication and results.

Lead Versus Do First-in-Command Duties o Communicate when the second-in-command is doing versus leading. o When the second-in-command wants to get quick results, encourage him to be patient and train others. Second-in-Command Duties o Lead versus do a job. o Don’t let your ego get in the way and want to do things yourself o Be purposeful in training and developing others to perform.

Bringing New Ideas First-in-Command Duties o Challenge and encourage the second-in-command to come up with new and innovative ideas. o Require the second-in-command to bring both positive and negative consequences related to the new ideas. o Publicly recognize and reward new ideas and show appreciation. Second-in-Command Duties o Always think about ways to improve the business. o Don’t “sell” ideas to the first-in-command using a one-sided approach; rather, present both sides using the consequence decision making approach. o Be proactive at bringing value to the business. o Hold a monthly strategy session to look at current plans and think of ways to improve what you are doing.

“What did I learn? You have to have clear expectations for every person in the company, and you have to help them understand why they are doing them. The expectations seemed clear to me with my father. The problems were that between the communication and execution, I forgot what I was supposed to do and I didn’t have clarity of why I was doing it. Expectations become clear when there is no doubt what someone is supposed to do, why they are doing it, and how it will be measured, and when other distractions are eliminated from the expectations.

Results First-in-Command Duties o Be accountable to the second-in-command to do what you say you will do. o Work to do more than what is expected to build a pool of dollars for employee recognition rewards. o Be clear on what is expected of the second-in-command, and make sure he knows why he is doing it. o Hold the second-in-command accountable. Second-in-Command Duties o Hold the first-in-command accountable for doing what he says he will do. o Be accountable to the first-in-command to do what you say you will do. o Work to do more than expected to build a pool of dollars for employee recognition rewards. o Build the clear performance objectives for the first- and second-in-command based on your annual strategic plan.