THE TWELVE PILLARS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Direction: A Pillar of Entrepreneurship Performance
If you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there.
When building a startup, there is a never-ending to-do list. Sometimes it feels like everything needs to be done all at once. Unfortunately, as humans, we can only focus on one task at a time, and there are only so many hours in a day.
So how do startup employees know where to direct their time? Which task is most important? Which one will be most impactful? Which task can be put off until tomorrow?
Answers to these questions should come from the founders and leaders of the startup. There needs to be someone on the leadership team who sets the direction of the entire startup. Without clear guidance, it takes much longer to accomplish goals. Each employee might be focused on a different goal because they are all pointed in different directions.
If you could get all the people in the organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time. ~ Patrick Lencioni
To accomplish the most important milestones, employees need to know which milestones are priorities and which ones can be put on the backlog. There need to be people responsible for establishing the direction and communicating it to the rest of the team. Founders and leaders who set the direction and guide employees and teammates are more likely to succeed.
Now, Let’s dive into what high-performance Direction means.
Direction as an Entrepreneurship Performance Pillar
Performance in Direction is a set of human behaviors related to providing guidance and orchestrating members toward achieving shared goals. Understanding these behaviors can provide a startup with a solid foundation to establish a shared mental model about the direction of the company.
First, it’s important to understand what I mean by performance behaviors and how they differ from tasks and outcomes. Below is a graphic that explains the difference between a task (the work that needs to be completed), performance (a collection of behaviors), and the outcome (the end output resulting from the performance behaviors).
What does high performance in Direction look like?
Once upon a time, we worked with a startup with three founders. When we asked each founder, during a stakeholder interview, to describe the purpose and mission of the company in their own words, it became evident that there was no clear direction. Each founder described the purpose of the company completely differently. We advised the founders to discuss the purpose of the startup and to agree on the direction and goals. They were never able to create an agreement. Unsurprisingly, their lack of a shared mental model around the purpose of the company led to the downfall of the company and tattered relationships.
This example is quite the opposite of high performance in Direction. Entrepreneurs skilled in Direction provide their employees with guidance and focus that sets them on a path to success. They also communicate the direction clearly to all team members, creating a shared mental model for goal attainment.
Here are some examples of Direction behaviors that successful entrepreneurs enact:
- Model desired behaviors and communicate expectations
- Provide governance and leadership for the organization
- Manage and oversee employees
- Ensure members have shared mental models (are on the same page)
- Define roles, responsibilities, and performance standards
Leveraging Teams for High-Performance
The best way to determine the direction of a startup is to discuss and identify priorities with the team collectively. While there should be a leader(s) ultimately responsible for the direction, members are more likely to buy in and follow the direction when involved in planning. Not only will your team be more likely to follow the direction, but you can leverage their different skills and knowledge to develop a strategy and make decisions about the best direction for the startup. So when identifying the quickest path to success, incorporate your team’s viewpoints.
Conclusion
You have to know where you are going to get there. Before jumping into action, set the direction (clearly and explicitly) so your team can collectively complete the milestones. If each team member is headed in a different direction, it will be nearly impossible for you to reach the endpoint. Make sure they are all on the same path and that they stay on that path over time.
Check out our next blog to discover how to improve your Direction Performance.
Have Questions or Need Advice?
At Blackhawke, we have several I-O psychologists with expertise in entrepreneurship performance and performance management. Feel free to schedule a 15-minute consultation; we’d be happy to provide some advice or answer questions, no strings attached!
About Blackhawke Behavior Science
Want to learn more about building a strong entrepreneurial team and healthy organizational culture? Visit Blackhawke’s Medium publication, From I-O to IPO, or www.blackhawke.io and get social with us on Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, or Twitter!
