Your team is focused on short-term gains. How can you lead them towards sustainable success?

La visión empresarial es fundamental, en torno a ella debe girar el enfoque que le querramos dar a los negocios y a la forma en que pretendemos entender las ganancias. En mi caso he dado preponderancia al éxito sostenible. He tratado de que cuando hago negocios con mis clientes sea un ganar/ganar que nos permita mantener una relación de negocios a lo largo de los años y no sólo una vez.

Values Alignment and Vision: Align short-term actions with long-term values and vision to foster consistency and clarity in organizational goals. Empowerment and Ownership: Cultivate a culture of empowerment and ownership where employees are encouraged to take initiative and responsibility for achieving sustainable outcomes. Learning, Collaboration, and Adaptability: Promote continuous learning, cross-functional collaboration, and adaptability to navigate challenges and innovate towards long-term success.

John C. Maxwell once said, "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. To cultivate a culture of sustainable success, especially for a team that is focused on short-term gains, it is fundamental to first lead by example and educate the team on the importance of long-term vision, process to derive achievable goals and produce a strategic game plan. Further, advocating a culture of making mistakes and continuous improvement, driving sustainable practices and rewarding risk taking, out of the box thinking and innovation produces winning teams that deliver long term sustainable results.

In my experience leading strategy teams for the last two decades, the most impactful action the leader has to do is explain the WHY. The teams that I have led have been a effective when I have spent the time to explain WHY we have to meet both short term and long term goals. Once you get past the WHY, then the next step is to educate the team in terms of how the long term success is tied to the short term actions. They need to be able to visualize how it's all connected to make the best decisions short term.

En el ejercicio de mi profesión he aprendido a trabajar bajo esta modalidad, es decir, que la gratificación no debe ser siempre instantanea sino más bien debe ser en el corto, mediano y largo plazo. Debemos concretar negocios que nos permitan generar ingresos de manera constante y por largo tiempo.

Es sumamente importante establecer formas de cómo medir el logro y avance en los objetivos. Identificar los puntos que son medibles tanto a lo interno como a lo externo de la organización. Esto nos permite identificar nuestros puntos fuertes, así como los puntos débiles que debemos fortalecer.

To instil a habit of reflection in your team, introduce regular practices such as programme post-mortem reviews and periodic reflection meetings. Encourage team members to document lessons learned and share insights. Offer a framework for reflection and enable the team through guiding prompts and questions, so they can for themselves “what went well” and “what could have been done better”. Lead by example by openly sharing your personal stories of making mistakes and your own reflections on them. Create a supportive environment where feedback is valued, and continuous learning is appreciated. Over time, this practice will become a part of the team's DNA, fostering a culture of self-awareness and growth.