The 7-T Success System
In my last blog, I introduced the 7-T Success System, an easy-to-use guide for leaders at all levels of the organization, from supervisor to CEO. As a reminder, the seven T’s are:
- Targets
- Talent
- Technique
- Tools
- Tone
- Training
- Tracking
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” – John C. Maxwell
The 7-T Success System is designed as a guide for those who have the desire and drive to become a leader who inspires others to work toward a common goal. The 7-T Success System provides a comprehensive framework to help leaders identify the right things to focus on and provides a roadmap for doing those things in the right way. The 7-T Success System helps employees at all levels identify what comprises great leadership, how to achieve it, and how to leverage it to drive accomplishment and build high-performing teams.
TARGETS
In this blog, we will focus on the first “T” – TARGETS. Each of the other Ts should be aligned with, and support, your TARGETS. If they are not, either your targets or the Ts need adjusted (re-aligned).
What are you trying to achieve and how are those achievements measured? No matter what your level of leadership, you have targets that you’re working toward reaching. A frontline supervisor may have goals that include exceeding all metric/KPI targets, leading the top-ranked team, enhancing the corporate/brand image and improving employees’ skillsets. A C-level executive’s targets could include achieving a specific market share, revenue growth, profitability, new product or service offerings, or higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.
You might be surprised to learn that many leaders do not have goals or have not set goals for their teams, that team-level activities aren’t aligned with organizational goals, and that results aren’t communicated to teams. How can employees perform to the best of their abilities if they don’t know what they should be trying to achieve? Targets are the foundation for determining improvement and must be set before beginning to address the rest of the 7-Ts.
“Goals that are not written down are just wishes.” – Fitzhugh Dodson
The 7-T Success System for any organizational level always begins with Targets. The other components all work together to achieve them, so it’s essential to establish the goals before beginning work on any other parts of the process. What is it you’re working toward? For a consumer products company, business targets may include achieving the organization’s mission, financial targets, market share, or footprint growth. A sports team’s targets may include championships, number of victories, maintaining the health of athletes, and financial results. The group or individuals that benefit from achieving these goals should also be top of mind. What happens for customers, shareholders, employees or other constituents if targets are met?
This seems like such a basic concept, but many organizations have vague targets, and more often, don’t take the time to convey them to employees. Not being plugged into the organizational big picture is surprisingly common, even at higher levels of leadership. Do you have your company’s vision and mission statements memorized? Do all employees know them? It’s tough to get to where you want to be if not everyone knows where you’re going.
“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland
You Can’t Reach Targets If They Don’t Exist
It’s not enough to have goals. Those goals must be documented, shared and reinforced constantly. Whether your goal is to lose weight, get in shape, save money, grow your business, or win a sports championship, not documenting your goals in writing is the surest way to start down a road of failure and disappointment. The 7-T System is no different. The process begins with written Targets.
And they need to be specific. It’s not enough to say, “We want to improve our bottom line,” or “We want to play the best we can.” You must define what those phrases really mean. Does improving the bottom line apply to just earnings or does it include revenue goals, employee retention, customer acquisition, or all of the above? Leaving a goal open to interpretation means a team is likely to misunderstand the definition of success. Putting goals in writing, whether electronically or posted on big signs within your workspace, ensures everyone understands exactly what the ultimate Targets are and can visualize them.
“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo
One of the most impactful examples of the power of setting targets I witnessed was in elementary school. My teacher asked a classmate to come forward to draw a horizontal line on the chalkboard. She drew a line at about her eye level. The teacher then said, “Now, draw another line even higher.” She drew a line about six inches higher than the first one. “Now draw a line as high as you can, without letting your feet leave the ground,” he said. This time she stood on tiptoe and drew a line much higher, only about six inches from the top of the chalkboard. Finally, the teacher said, “Now, if you can draw a line even higher than your last line, I’ll let the entire class leave early today.” The class became excited and started to cheer her on. She took a moment to gather herself, approached the board again and proceeded to draw a line about half an inch higher than the last line. The class erupted in cheers.
Before letting us leave early, the teacher explained the purpose of the exercise. Her first line was drawn after he gave her only the direction of drawing a line. She had no target. The second line was drawn after he gave a target, but the target was vague. She was only instructed to draw a line higher than her first one. The third line was drawn much higher than the previous one because the target was more clear. He told her to draw a line “as high as you can.”
Finally, the last line drawn was the highest of all, because of two factors absent from the first three attempts. First, she had a clear target to beat on the board, based on her previously highest line. Second, he offered a reward: to let the entire class leave early.
He made the point that the clearer the target and the more defined the reward, the better the performance will be. I’ve never forgotten that powerful message.
“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland
The 7-T Success System works. If planned and executed correctly, you will achieve outstanding results. Therefore, do not set your targets too low. They will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you have only achieved minor improvements in the past, do not set your targets assuming you’ll only achieve minor improvements when using the 7-T Success System.
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” – Warren Bennis
If you are already a leader, or are aspiring leader, you do not want to simply manage your team or organization; you want to lead it and build a winning team. The fact that you have taken the time to read this blog means you are ready to accelerate your organization’s success journey and demonstrate your value as a leader. The 7-T Success System can help you accomplish that. Let’s go, leaders!
The 7-T Success System book can be purchased at www.7tsystem.com, and inquiries regarding 7-T Success System consulting services can be made by writing to info@bizjuice.com.
Casey Kostecka is an award-winning thought leader and expert in sales, customer experience management and contact center operations within BPO/outsourcing, healthcare, travel/hospitality, and government arenas. His proven track record in leading $500M+ organizations to record-breaking growth and profitability makes him a sought-after speaker and consultant. Casey’s extensive experience with process engineering, leadership cultivation, and team and customer engagement led him to develop unique, highly effective tools. Casey is the founder of TouchPoint One and its award-winning ACUITYTM Performance Management System, multiple proprietary gamification applications, and the 7-T Success System™ are all of which are employed by Fortune 500 companies throughout the United States. Learn more about his work at www.touchpointone.com and www.7TSuccess.com.