*By Pedro Signorelli

We always discuss the differences between being just a boss and being a leader. And in these conversations, we make it clear how important it is to exercise good, fair and responsible leadership. However, it may be that despite your efforts, the results are not being achieved. So I ask you a question: more than just being a good leader, are you being the leader your company needs?

When someone is promoted and takes on a leadership role, it is normal to feel a little lost at first, as if they are not sure which path to take or which is the best decision to make. After all, a lot of information starts to arrive at the same time and it is necessary to deal with issues that were not previously within their scope, in addition to the concern for employees.

However, what will really make a difference in your professional life as a manager, and which goes beyond the view of others classifying you as a good leader or not, is the perception of your own work and consequently the understanding of whether you are being a leader who can meet the needs of the organization at that moment. And believe me, doing this is not easy at all and can take some time.

What are the company’s pain points? What mistakes are being made? Where can improvements be made? What are the short, medium and long-term goals? How can the team evolve? Your company will constantly ask you these questions, and you – as a leader – need these answers to be able to move forward and do what is being asked of you effectively and assertively.

In this sense, it is essential that you understand the organization’s processes and how they work, so that you can identify potential problems when they arise. Having a 360-degree view will allow you to understand the entire business, making it possible to know its details and define what is a priority, allocating your attention, focus and efforts.

And to do this effectively, the leader can apply OKRs – Objectives and Key Results – in the strategy execution plan and thus count on the team to get their hands dirty, as each member will know exactly their role, which will make it much easier for the manager to delegate tasks and believe that they will be done as agreed.

The truth is that you won’t be able to put these actions into practice overnight, but you need to practice them on a daily basis so that control and dominance are replaced by partnership and trust. A leadership that is more focused on the company and its employees will certainly be able to identify problems and bring improvements to the organization as a whole.

Achieving results is not an individual task, neither for the leader nor for the employee, but rather a team effort, and to achieve this, it is essential to bring everyone together to focus on what is most important: the results that need to be achieved. This is the fundamental job of the leader, to engage and equip the team with what is necessary in terms of tools and processes, and OKRs are the piece that connects strategy with engagement.

Pedro Signorelli  is one of Brazil’s leading experts in management, with an emphasis on OKRs. He has already moved more than R$2 billion with his projects and is responsible, among others, for the Nextel case, the largest and fastest implementation of the tool in the Americas. For more information, visit:  http://www.gestaopragmatica.com.br/