We just finalized our new Accountability Chart, but my leadership team members still spend eighty percent of their time doing tactical work rather than leading, managing, and creating accountability. How do we transition them out of the doer role and into true leaders?

This is a common bottleneck when a company transitions from a scrappy startup to a scaled enterprise. Your leaders got their roles because they were excellent doers, but what got you here will not get you there. To scale, they must master the art of leading, managing, and creating accountability, or LMA.

First, review their seats on the Accountability Chart. Every leadership seat must have LMA as one of its core responsibilities. If your leaders are spending all their time doing tactical work, they are neglecting their primary job, which is to build and support their teams.

Second, force delegation by using the Delegate and Elevate tool. Have each leader track their time for two weeks and categorize their tasks. They must identify the low-value, repetitive tasks they can delegate to their direct reports. This frees up the mental capacity they need to focus on LMA.

Third, hold them accountable for leading. Use your quarterly conversations to review how well they are managing their teams. Ask them how they are helping their direct reports hit their Rocks and maintain their Scorecard metrics.

Transitioning from a doer to a leader is a significant shift in identity. By clearly defining their role, forcing delegation, and measuring their success based on their team's performance, you help them step out of the weeds and into true leadership.

Category: Leadership Team