Team Performance: Why Lowering Targets Isn’t the Solution

I’m Melissa Shanahan, and this is The Law Firm Owner Podcast Episode #283.

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Hey, everyone, welcome to this week's episode. I am thrilled you're here. I am coming off of a two-day retreat that was fantastic. It was the end of phase one. The very last step, when you do phase one inside of Velocity Work, is to have a two-day retreat. And there's a bunch of work in front of that.

This engagement is a standalone engagement. It lasts two to three months. If someone wants to work with us privately, this is the foyer into private client work. Because it gives us a really good picture on the data, understand the company, understand the team and the dynamics and the positions, the financials, and all of the things that matter if you want to understand how to plan strategically.

And so once we have all that data, then we analyze all the data. We present charts and graphs to the owner or owners, and then we get into a room for two days with the owners and any key team members so that we can plan strategically for the future. So this was the end of phase one for this specific client. It was an awesome two days.

So much good stuff came out of it. They were already familiar with EOS, which we don't do EOS as framework. But there are certain things from EOS that we really think are great. And they had a good foundation for that. It allowed us to have some advanced conversations. So it was it was an awesome couple of days.

Phase one is something that if you want to be private, that's how we work with people initially, I mentioned that. And it's not on our site, it's really only offered if I have a consult with someone and it feels like that's the right fit, that private client work or an audit of the business would be truly helpful for the person I'm talking to, then that's when we would offer to them phase one.

So it's not something you just sign up for. But it's a really great option that offers a ton of clarity for owners and for key people in the firm, and that can trickle down to everyone else in the firm. So that's what we just came off of. With every retreat I have all these things that I think will be just be so great to have a conversation with listeners about.

But today, what I'm going to talk about is building on very nicely the episodes that just dropped recently, the last two... it was part one and part two… about the vision. Really being committed and believing hard in your vision. Lining yourself up with it and acting like you believe in it. Your behavior needs to exhibit and reflect alignment with that vision.

So this, what I'm going to talk about today, which is perfectly timed I think, is not putting a number on the wall. When I say that I really mean a goal, a target that you are going to shoot for as a firm. This could be the mother goal, which is revenue, because everything stems from that. It could be a very specific goal inside. It could be a profit margin goal or anything. Okay? So a number that you're shooting for is the definition of a “goal” in our world.

If you are shooting for a goal… and you want to shoot for goal. You want to put a number up there… and the only reason that you're not going to put a number up there is because of doubts that the team is going to be able to work in a way that's going to allow that goal to happen, that's the only reason you're not going to put it up there, you need to stop in your tracks and ask yourself, what is really going on? What is the root cause?

Because people do this. They will say, “Well, I think we could hit X number of dollars.” And this is true for small firms and big firms. I have seen this happen with firms that are shooting for $500,000. I have seen this happen with firms that are shooting for $7.5 million. It doesn't matter what the number is.

When you put a number and you're hesitant, you actually say, “Well, I think we could do that. But I just don't know. My team…” if they're going on history, and they sort of have PTSD about what it's been like before with the people in the organization not following processes, the root cause of them not following processes needs to be addressed.

Versus just lowering the goal because you just don't really believe your team is going to be able to do what it takes in order to get there. That is not a reason to back off of a number.

Some people though, are busy, they're caught up in the day to day. They are with us in a room, which is fantastic, and planning for the future. They get to take a breath. And they really get to think through this and talk through it. So the sabotage doesn't happen as easily because we're here and we're facilitating.

I mean, we've done all the math. And based on the growth that we're nearly confident that we can count on, that we could get to X number… fill in the blank with whatever number that is for you. But you have doubts. And so then I'll say, “It seems like you doubt that. But we did just do the math and we're projecting forward based on what we know. So what's going on?”

And they'll say something to the effect of, “I'm just not sure that… If everything was going really well, and if everybody abided by processes in our systems, this should be possible. But that hasn't proven to happen the way that I wish it would happen, the way that it should be happening. And so if it doesn't, I don't think there's any world in which we can get there.” And so then that's when, as a facilitator, I say, “Okay, so we need to have a conversation about that.”

We need to dig into that. Because whatever barriers exist there, that's where we have to put in some initiatives or some projects or some things that are going to get done. I call these “Rocks”. So do many other people in the world. What are your quarterly priorities? The things you're going to get done, so that it eliminates the barrier that you are mentioning, that you are afraid of, or that if you had to put money on it, you're pretty certain it's going to roll out in the way that you don't want it to? So how do we address that?

And what I love about these retreats is that this is the space where they actually get to get clear about that. When you're on your own, and you're working busy, it's tough to say, “Okay, wait a minute, the root cause is, what?” And getting to the root cause, figuring that out, and then saying, “Okay, well, I'm going to do X to solve for the root cause of the problem of people not following processes. And then we will be on a much better path to enabling ourselves to hit the goal. So when we get to…”

Finally, when they slow down enough, they take a breath, and they are asked these questions, it takes a minute for them to think. These answers don't just roll off their tongue. They have to stop, and they have to consider what is really going on here.

And usually, the first answer is not the answer. It's not the root cause. So I, as a facilitator, I have to ask questions that lead them deeper and deeper underneath what they think might be the issue.

So there are a couple things I want to say about this. If you can relate to this, if you think, “Man, we technically should be able to accomplish the amount of work required. And we should be getting that business in, that's probably likely to happen. So then that means we should be able to do this amount of revenue. But I don't believe that our team will do it. And so I'm considering backing off of that a little bit.”

If you find yourself in that camp, I want you to hear that there are two sides of the coin. There are two points that I really want you to think about.

Number one is, root cause in why their behavior is what it is. Now, this could be a number of things. This could be because people don't like change. This could be because there's no consequences, there's no checks and balances, there's no accountability for them to make sure that they are doing things the way that it's outlined in terms of your system or your process. So people are just doing things the way they do them.

So you may have someone doing it by the process over here, but then another person doing it their way over here, or the old way, it's a mishmash. And there's a reason that it's the old way, right? You fixed things. You created more efficiency by putting this process or system into place.

It doesn't mean that your system or process doesn't need work. There is that to think about. When you're trying to figure out why aren't people abiding by it? Is it broken? Is your process working? Is there a step that needs to be added or taken away? Maybe it's not ideal and people are feeling friction in the process, and so then they don't abide by the process.

You have to really look at why are people not following what they're supposed to do. And remembering, these are humans. Humans don't just always do the right thing all the time perfectly. We are human, our brains will take the path of least resistance. And that is why change is hard and implementing a new system or process sometimes is hard for people.

And so they will revert back to the way that they've always done things, or the way that they prefer to do things, instead of abide by the system if nobody's looking, if nobody's checking. And that's not because they're a bad person, it's just because maybe they're tired, or they feel like they have a lot on their plate. And so it's just easier for them to get the job done in the way that they know how versus abiding by a process.

So asking yourself, why, why is this behavior happening? And is it happening across the board? Is it happening with just the minority of people in your organization that have to follow this? Really getting clear about that and not just making generalizations about no one follows the process. That's probably not true.

And if it is true, looking at why is important. But be careful about making blanket statements. Force your brain to get specific. Who specifically doesn't follow the process? Where do they fall off of the process? What's the trigger for them not following the process? Or where's the step in which they fall off and why is that?

Really looking at it and answering with specificity. Having specific answers to these questions can really help you make headway much more quickly, and dig in an issue spot in a much better way.

Now, on the other side of the coin, this is the second thing I want you to consider. So we've looked at people, why people aren't abiding by this. And then, the second part of this, is to look in the mirror. What could you have done differently so that people were abiding by it all the time?

And that could be because of training and development just wasn't rolled out quite as well as it should have been. It wasn't checked. Giselle, who I work with closely, she's our operations guru inside of Velocity Work. I’ve listened to her talk about, in these last two days even, validating processes and process validation, and making sure that the process does function the way that you think it's supposed to, it's actually giving the result with the ease that it's supposed to.

And once it's tested, then it's considered complete. Did you do that? Or did you just put together what you thought would be good? Did someone just put together what they thought would be good, but it wasn't really validated? And so that is something that you can look into the mirror for.

And when I say “look in the mirror”, maybe it is you, but I really mean look at leadership. Look at the people who implemented these changes and pushed for these changes. You have to really own and take responsibility for why you're not getting the results that you want to get.

Another thing is, let's just say your process is validated. Let's say it works beautifully. And you know that because you've seen it gone off without a hitch when someone abides by it, or when it's abided by. But there's no accountability. There's no checks and balances.

So if there's no accountability… and like we talked about before, people will default into their default modes of behavior, the way that they've always done things and no one's going to call them on it… well, okay, why wouldn't they keep doing things the way they want to do them?

Accountability can come in different forms. It doesn't mean you have to micromanage. One of the beautiful things that Giselle helps with, especially our private clients, is understanding how to have a calendar for auditing; how to audit, what to audit, and when to audit. So you don't have to have your hands and your eyes on everything.

But on a certain cadence you go pull certain files, or you go pull certain processes, and you see when someone has walked through them, are they walking through them? Are the results achieved that should be achieved? Are the checklists handled the way they're supposed to be handled? All of these things matter.

But if no one is going back to do an audit then things fly under the radar. So that's on leadership. That's on you as the owner, and your key people on your team, who should be doing these things. Even if it's a key team member, I strongly recommend taking responsibility for it.

Culture starts and stops with you. So if you are not in a place where you are holding team accountable, or where you have set the expectation that this is the way things go, or-or-or… There could be a number of things that you're just missing the mark on. This is your time to ask yourself, where can I be better here? Where can I shift so that the result that is gotten by my team is ideal? That is very important.

And what I notice in retreats, often, is that you'll try to get to the root cause of something, and owners and leadership teams will go towards and think first about what sort of sucks about the team members that aren't following the processes. They have assumptions on why they're not following the processes.

Okay, some of those assumptions could be tested and may be true. But then it's the other side that, often, as a facilitator you have to say, “Okay, now, if you're going to take responsibility for this, what might you say could be the root cause of why this is not happening the way it should be happening?”

And so then they start to think about, “Well, there really isn't accountability, other than me poking every once in a while, and saying, ‘Hey, why aren't you doing this?’” Doing this better? Doing this right? It's not formal, and there's really no consequence to not following through with what people are supposed to do. And by “consequence”, I don't mean that they get in trouble.

But this is an organization. This is a company that runs on systems and processes. And if those aren't abided by, that means we aren't doing the best thing for the company. And the whole reason we are here is to make sure that the company is very healthy. We are doing things to contribute to the good of the company, to the health of the company.

Usually that means that when we are showing up in that way, for what is best for the company, it means that the clients are getting served to the best of our ability. So everybody wins when we're showing up and we're putting the company's health first.

If that's not happening, there absolutely should be consequences. It's not about saying ‘you're bad’ and slapping on the hand. People don't like confrontation. They don't know how to hold people accountable without making them feel bad. No, no, no, no. This is not about that person, and it's not about you. It's about the health of the company.

If everybody can align on that, and remember that that's what we're talking about, then we're in a much better position to have a much more productive conversation and really get under problems instead of making it about a person. This is much bigger than that.

When you put a number on the wall… this is why we started talking about this, you put a number on the wall… a goal that you know would be possible, but you're doubting it because you don't believe that the team is going to be able to show up in the ways that is needed for that to be possible, you have to stop and ask yourself, what is the root cause of the barriers that we are experiencing?

Why isn't the team able to do and to perform in the ways that will allow us to hit those numbers? And some of it will be about how your team members are operating. Some of it will be about you, and about how accountability needs to be in place or better training, or better processes; it's not developed fully, it's not good enough. So all of these things need to be looked at.

That's a much better way to approach a year. I'm talking about this because we're getting ready to hit a new year very soon and y'all are going to have goals. And if you don't, you should. You absolutely should have a goal, because it forces you to line up internally in a way that will really serve you.

It's not just about hitting a number. It's about what it means to be able to hit a number. It's about streamlining, reducing inefficiency, and creating more space and freedom for you because of the systems and processes that exist. For more satisfaction and ease within each role, so that people can really do a great job with the responsibilities that they have because of the systems that are in place.

So all of this is, if you can do a good job internally to line yourself up with a number, it's not just about hitting the number and winning on that. It's about winning in all of these areas. It's the side effects of hitting a number when you are approaching it in a really healthy way. The benefits are amazing.

I want to just remind everybody, I would rather you shoot for a number that feels like a stretch but you know you can do it. There's a path there. But not unless things are streamlined. Not unless there are systems. Not unless there are improved efficiencies. Only then would you be able to hit that number.

I would rather you shoot for that bigger number and get yourself lined up to it. Because it's going to mean so much more good for you and for the organization and for your clients and for your team, than to shoot for a lower number. That if you kept on keeping on the way you are, maybe you make little minor tweaks here and there but not really changing anything for the better fundamentally, then you're going to have a smaller number that's hit and a messier organization inside. That's not fun.

Because, over time, the more you grow, problems stack on problems, and inefficiencies stack on inefficiencies. It gets more and more difficult to get your arms around some of these things. So starting earlier is always better.

The second that you can spot this, the second that you have doubt that has nothing to do with… You know the work is there. You know you could do it, but you're just not sure that the team you have could handle it, then we need to ask yourself these questions.

One more thing I'll say on this, is that sometimes what you will hear people, what you'll hear come out of their mouth, if they see a number that they do not believe that their team is capable of doing it, that it's just they're not dialed, they don't follow processing systems, etc, sometimes you will hear an owner say, “I think we'd have to hire someone else,” and it's because of the inefficiencies.

So then they're going to hire because they think just adding a body will make it so that they can hit those numbers. That might be true. But then you're creating this bloated scenario, where you're spending too much on people to get this work done.

And really, you didn't need to spend it on another salary, you needed to just get lean and train and reset expectations through team so that everybody's rowing in the same direction, and everybody is dialed, and everybody is accountable for following things in the way they need to be followed.

I'm sure that there is something in this episode that struck you, whether it's to do with accountability, or whether it's to do with validating processes, or whether it's to do with confrontation and having… And by the way, there's an episode on high confront, how important high confront is. And it's a trait that you should have, it'll serve you.

So maybe it's around confrontation, maybe it's around understanding that you need to take the space to train better. I don't know what it is. I don't know what the nugget is. But there's probably something in here that you know is the thing that you should look at. You know is the thing that you should give attention to.

I would say, just like I say for many episodes, pay attention to that. Go deal with that. Go jot down some notes after this episode. What needs addressed? What are you going to do about it? Why hasn't it been addressed yet? How can you move forward differently? What do you need to do in order to be able to move forward differently?

Is it scheduling time in your calendar? Is it scheduling a regular meeting so that you’ve got to show up and get make headway on this thing? What is the thing that you need to do so that you can make headway on whatever it is that stood out to you from this episode? And from there, you could go for it.

There are a lot of things we covered, and these are all things we help with. But if you're on your own and you don't work with us, and you don't have someone guiding you and thinking sort of meta about these things, then just take the one thing and run with it.

Alright, everybody, have a wonderful week. I'll see you here next Tuesday.

Hey, you may not know this, but there's a free guide for a process I teach called Monday Map/Friday Wrap. If you go to VelocityWork.com, it's all yours. It's about how to plan your time and honor your plans. So, that week over week, more work that moves the needle is getting done in less time. Go to VelocityWork.com to get your free copy.

Thank you for listening to The Law Firm Owner Podcast. If you're ready to get clearer on your vision, data, and mindset, then head over to VelocityWork.com where you can plug in to Quarterly Strategic Planning, with accountability and coaching in between. This is the work that creates Velocity.