Andrea Gets Schooled

In my last post, I shared my opinion that goal-setting isn’t useful. I highlighted my preference for direction-setting instead.

However, through the process of reflection and writing that article, I learned a valuable lesson. I’m seeing the organizational impact of me being a goal-averse person in a leadership position, amplified by the fact I’m the founder of the company.

Because of my aversion to setting goals, I haven’t implemented as much structure as others in my position may have, and I’m seeing that play out in many ways.

Thankfully, our company’s vision of changing the landscape of scoliosis management in BC and beyond has been an effective north star to set our general direction as an organization. Our diverse team converges to meet at this mission, and it motivates us to continue delivering exceptional service at every touchpoint.

But this falls short on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis. Particularly since we’ve grown in size, and even more so since I stepped back from being at the clinic to pursue my MBA, I’m observing that my lack of clear goals can feel challenging for those within the company who function well with structure.

Let’s be clear – this blog isn’t about the importance of detailed job expectations, or how to establish KPIs or meeting rhythms – there are 1928475.73 articles already written about those topics. Nor is it about our team’s output; on the contrary, their performance is strong despite my resistance to highly structured weekly/monthly/quarterly targets.

The simple point of this blog entry is this: I’ve realized that my personal goal aversion is a shining example of how leaders project their own values onto their teams and subsequently the operations of their business, whether they know it or not.

Luckily in this situation, the fix is fairly straightforward – I need to facilitate other goal-focused team members to grow in their leadership, and encourage them to outline more structured goals. We’re in the process of this, with my business partner Madison and Operations Manager aiming to implement the Traction Method soon.

One of the most challenging aspects of organizational leadership is to make decisions in the best interest of the business. When it was just me, I WAS the business, and the business was me. My values were the company’s values, and my pace was the company’s pace. For example, when I was energetic, the company grew and we opened new clinics. In periods of fatigue or overwhelm, operations stayed status quo.

As we’ve grown from 1 →3→10→30 staff, each person has contributed to the evolution of The ScoliClinic, which now has its own momentum and values that may differ from my own. Furthermore, the company’s needs have evolved and if I want it to thrive, I must view it as its own entity and make decisions accordingly.

This prompts several follow-up questions (that will likely keep me journalling for days) to help me distinguish myself from my business:

• what are my top personal values, and how are those affecting the company?
• what are my tendencies, especially when I’m rested or stressed? How might I be bringing those into the company?
• what assumptions do I make when it comes to work, and am I communicating expectations clearly?
• what implicit biases do I carry?*
• how does privilege show up in my life, and am I aware of that?
• how might staff be struggling; how might my projections have contributed to that?

*Understanding our implicit/unconscious biases may be the most raw, uncomfortable, and crucial introspection we can engage in

I don’t believe it’s possible to fully separate yourself from your business, nor is it required. Rather, I’m highlighting the importance of self-awareness for leaders as it enables us to be intentional about which traits we choose to shape our organization, and which ones to keep separate.

The more we explore ourselves, the better we can understand how we influence our organizations and those around us.

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