Send to KindleThe manager had just finished reporting to the leadership team on how his team had successfully completed a project, exceeding all expectations. He was justifiably proud and so he was seemed confused when I looked him in the eye, pointed my finger at him and, in what I hoped was a slightly menacing way asked, “How did this happen?” Everyone on the leadership team was a little surprised at that, so I explained. As leaders, we are usually pretty quick to demand answers when things go wrong. We want to dissect failure, figure out what went wrong and how to fix it, and unfortunately, sometimes place blame. It’s healthy to do this. Not to place blame, but to analyze what happened and develop plans to fix the problem and prevent recurrence.
Why don’t we do this when things go right? Usually, success brings congratulations, a pat on the back, then a return to business as usual. But, that misses a huge opportunity! By asking “How did this happen?” I forced our team to examine what had led to success. There are 6 specific things to consider.
1. What did the leadership do differently in this case? It’s important to analyze what the leadership did that led to success instead of failure. This also gives you a chance to toot the project leader’s horn a little.
2. Were there external factors that helped with success? We like to think we can do it all, but often there are outside influences that provide valuable help. Capture that information so you can use it again.
3. What worked to impede progress and success? A project is very rarely completely smoothly from beginning to end. There are always problems. It helps to identity them, but more importantly, it is important for everyone to see how leadership handled these problems.
4. Was there a specific individual or group which stood out as a key to success? Too often a leader will bask in the glow of success without identifying to the leadership team subordinates who were instrumental in the project’s success. The subject of rewarding great work is beyond the scope of this article, but at the very least, the leader’s boss should know who those critical people are and the individuals themselves should know that the boss’s boss also knows their names.
5. What would the leadership do differently next time? No recriminations here, just an honest look at what might be done better next time. Even success can usually be improved. This is not a repeat of the first question. In that case you evaluate what you did differently to make the project a success. In this question, you want to flesh out lessons learned that will help make the next project even more successful.
6. Was there a point in the project when it looked liked failure was imminent? If so, what did the leadership do to overcome the crisis?
So, next time one of your leaders successfully completes a project or handles a problem, ask them “how did that happen?”
