LIFE is based on natural, recurring rhythms. Our morning activities differ from our evening ones; we plan vacations around the seasons; we focus our energy differently according to the stages of our careers.
Without these cadences the music of life would be chaotic, and it would be hard to build a common social language.
The turning of the calendar year is a reminder that organizations also need a sense of rhythm. Some of this is created naturally through tasks like quarterly financial reports. But leaders need to ensure a solid rhythm exists throughout all of the organization’s activities to give investors, employees and customers a sense of consistency. There are at least three different rhythmic cadences that leaders need to establish:
1 PLANNING AND BUDGETING: Leaders need to make sure that an effective planning and budgeting cycle is in place. This is the cadence that forces people to set strategies and goals, and then translate them into plans.
2 REPORTING AND PIVOTING: People at all levels value rhythms for assessing progress and making improvements toward achieving their goals. But this rhythm often breaks down due to a lack of discipline or transparency, or the avoidance of tough discussions when things go off track.
3 HUMAN RESOURCE STAFFING AND DEVELOPMENT: At the companywide level, this means identifying needed skills and resources, closing gaps between current and future needs, moving people to appropriate roles and rewarding people for success. Within each work unit, this rhythm involves the periodic recalibration of unit structures, disciplined performance feedback, mentoring, coaching and training.
Establishing the right rhythm for each of these streams is an important but extremely difficult job. But doing so ensures that progress reviews and talent development mesh with planning cycles, both at a macro level and within each work group.
It’s easy to wait for senior leaders to set these rhythms—but managers at every level need to work on harmonization. One way to do so is to create a “master calendar’’ for your team and yourself. Mark (or estimate) all of the key dates and requirements that are part of the annual corporate cycle. Then add the recurring tasks that you require for your own rhythm: project reviews, mentoring sessions, off-sites, etc. Once you begin to see how they all fit together, you can make adjustments and plan ahead.
Ron Ashkenas is a managing partner at Schaffer Consulting and a coauthor of The GE Work-Out and The Boundaryless Organization. His latest book is Simply Effective.
