You cannot develop your character and transform a culture overnight; it must be worked on every day.

As I am writing this article, at this time I am working on a project as a Chief Engineer and was one of my inspirations for sharing this with you. The project is an engineering design project on Freight Locomotives in the UK.

There are five different stakeholders who are the main contractors on this project, but there are also sub-contractors who are carrying out the designs and doing the bulk of the work.

1. Influence

So, being in one of the leadership positions on this project, there are a lot of teams to work with and influencing these teams in the right way is so important.

When I started the project in 2021, I was only supposed to be a part of it for 6 months. But, 4 years later I am still part of the project making several relevant changes to the design review process and the design review meetings.

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These changes were required because the design review process wasn’t working, and the design review meetings were not effective. There were several other changes needed in different departments other than engineering/design also, especially the commercial department.

When the project started 12 years ago, the role of Chief Engineer wasn’t even thought of because it shouldn’t have been required. The contractor who was supplying the product should have had sufficient engineers and sufficient leaders to deliver the project.

But, after so long of the project not delivering, they needed a new team to lead the project and start delivering. Otherwise, the project was going to be terminated, and all that government money would go elsewhere.

So, in creating this new team it was a reaction to poor performance, not a proactive continuous improvement initiative.

If the leader of the project knew why the teams were not delivering, then they would have been able to solve the problem a lot earlier and then start delivering. But it had been so long, and something needed to change.

2. The Right Team

The leader of the project loved being the leader and loved the people he worked with, especially those who reported into him. I know that if he knew what the problem was earlier, then he and his team would have solved that problem.

The main problem was knowing if he had the right people on the project or not. One of the reasons I wrote “Highly Effective Teams” was for leaders like this project leader who didn’t understand if they had the right people, and why it is very difficult to find good people.

Not only that but retaining good people and developing them in the right way.

Knowing the reason why you don’t have the right people on your project or team will only change your thinking. Just knowing the reason why will never be enough to make the changes required to turn things around.

Knowing the reason why a problem is occurring will never solve the problem. It is very difficult to find and retain good people on your project or team, and knowing the reason why, is a good start but more needs to happen.

3. Doing The Right Things

For example, in 2022 I know I needed to lose weight and I know why I needed to lose weight. The reasons where I wasn’t exercising enough, I wasn’t eating a completely healthy diet, I was in the pub every weekend and I should have been looking after myself a bit better.

So, I knew the reasons why, but that meant nothing until I did something about it. I needed to take action on myself.

I needed to exercise more, I needed to eat healthier, I needed to cut down my weekends at the pub and I needed to look after myself better. So, I put all those things into action, and continue to do so today.

What is it that pushes us to take action, it isn’t the reasons why or the knowledge we have, it is our character.

We know the reasons why we need to do something, we know how to do it, but we need our character to determine whether we do it or not. With a strong character, we will. With a weak character, we won’t.

Before you read this and my other articles, there were obstacles in your way of transforming your team’s and organisation’s culture into a highly effective leadership culture, you didn’t know why or how.

There were obstacles in your way of developing your people into leaders, you didn’t know why or how. But now you have read my articles and hopefully one of my books, those obstacles are not in your way anymore.

4. Taking The Right Action

But you can’t just leave it at that. You must take action on what you are learning from me. You must show your people how and why they must take action too.

To build a highly effective team is difficult and to transform the culture into a highly effective leadership culture is even more difficult. But you can’t let how difficult these things are be the excuse for you to either give up, or not even try.

The people in your team, in your organisation, your team’s families, your friends, your family, your country and your community are all counting on you to take action.

They are counting on you to transform your team into a highly effective team, transform your culture into a highly effective leadership culture so that, you can teach others how to do the same. You need to set the example to all mentioned and show them how much you care.

Turning your organisation into a leader of your industry is very difficult indeed. Becoming an organisation that attracts the best people is very difficult too. Developing your people to be their best selves every day is very difficult.

Leading your team and your organisation to success is very difficult. Leading yourself and being the best version of yourself every day is very difficult.

Despite how difficult it is, you need to be the highly effective leader who takes action and makes things happen for your team, your organisation and your people.

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You must make the right commitments to make things happen. You must go the extra mile to make things happen. You cannot just let things happen and hope for the best. Hope is not a strategy.

There are very few leaders throughout the world who will put the work required in to transform the culture into a highly effective leadership culture and grow their team into a highly effective team. But I know you are not one of those leaders. I know you are a highly effective leader.

Developing a highly effective team does not just happen overnight. It happens every day.

Transforming a culture into a highly effective leadership culture does not just happen overnight. It happens every day.

It is one thing to have a vision, but if there is no action then it is just a dream.

I welcome hearing how this post has influenced the way you think, the way you lead, or the results you have achieved because of what you’ve learned in it. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me by commenting below.

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All the best,

Tom (Lead, Grow, Influence)