High Performance Leadership: How To Get Better At Getting Better

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Read time: 1 minute 58 seconds

As I study high-performing teams, I notice one thing they all have in common.

They aren't just focused on getting better.
They are obsessed with getting better faster.

They aren't just improving.
They're compounding.

How did they engineer this accelerant?

1. Problem Selection

2. Solution Depth

3. Continuous Integration

4. Cycle Times

Let's look at each piece:

Problem Selection

The perfect solution to the wrong problem isn't very valuable.

So, instead of rushing to find a solution to the obvious problem, the high-preforming teams spend more time ensuring it's the right one.

The two ways most helpful ways I’ve found to cultivate the right problems:

Compare to What Excellent Looks Like

This will help you examine your system instead of the symptoms your system produces. The symptom is the signal, but the diagnosis is what matters. While the bad customer review might get your attention, your solution is very different if your product is bad vs. if your helpdesk wasn't responsive.

Root Cause Analysis (5 Whys) 

Problems are painful, so we naturally want to move through them quickly when we should go deeper. When you ask Why, you not only help people more deeply understand their role in the break, but you prevent an untold number of similar problems down the road. Because you addressed it at the root cause.

That brings us to...