Here's a provocative question for you! On what unnecessary topic do CEO/COOs spend a great deal of time these days?

The answer – the performance of their direct reports! How is this topic “unnecessary”? Surely it is one of these most important concerns that any business leader/manager needs to resolve. Of course it is!

This was perhaps a 'trick question'. The point is that it's the spending of substantial time that's unnecessary, not the topic itself. When a business liaison such as that between a CEO/COO and a direct report is initially established, the issue of performance standards and monitoring has to be identified, negotiated and resolved. If this is done properly, at the outset, then very little time and effort will be required until the basic nature of the liaison changes.

As with any other significant liaison, what's needed is a contract. Webster's defines a contract as 'a binding agreement between two or more persons or parties'. A further definition, also applicable, is 'to reduce to smaller size'. These two aspects are vitally important in any liaison, for while we can usually agree readily on our final destination or outcome, it's rare that we'll agree on the best route to take to that 'happy ending'. In disagreeing about the route, we can lose our focus on the Goal.

There's plenty of room for constructive negotiation here. The synergy of two or more good minds working together is indisputable, but synergy generally works only when the minds are focused on a shared outcome - on that which unites, versus divides, them. In practically all business situations there's no single 'right' answer, just those which are optimal, appropriate and above all, acceptable.

To arrive safely and productively at our final destination, we will benefit from clarity and objectivity at the start and along the way. There will be sufficient challenges from outside to occupy our time and attention; we do not need unproductive challenges from within, just because we didn't do our homework! It makes abundant sense to define and pre-set terms, conditions for action and such methodologies that must be jointly agreed.

By agreeing to such standards and 'limitations', we effectively set up a series of two or more 'tripwires' to guide and confine future decisions and actions. Now each person is free to exercise a fair degree of autonomy, as pressures mount and challenges are faced, without risking opposition and anxiety from among our colleagues.

The process is to focus, at the outset, on the available resources of 'People', 'Finance', 'Materiel', 'Time', 'Information' and 'Motivation' against the standards of Quality, Quantity, Timings and Cost, and to define where the tripwires ought to be placed – on what factors and under what conditions. With such an agreement, we can shift our focus to attaining results, confident that the tripwires will alert us to the need to respond appropriately when necessary.

So, let's not worry about performance, let's pre-arrange the relationship(s) so that each one of us can focus on our contribution, secure in the knowledge that we shall meet the expectations of others, in a responsible way, and in a circumstance that has integrated their values and perspectives. A possible method for achieving this 'peace of mind' is defined in the Staying in Touch section of the Andros website.

Contract with yourself for success!