In our current strange quarantine world more than ever you are measured by the results you deliver. We have fewer touchpoints as many of us work from home. Your work will speak for you when you cannot be seen in the office working hard every day. In this post, I’ll cover three main points:

As a leader, you’re responsible to deliver results (even in the face of challenges)
You won’t control all the necessary elements to ensure results
Work through your relationships to deliver what you can
Postscript: Nobody wants to hear “it’s not my fault” from a leader

The organization has hired you to deliver results. As a manager and junior executive, the tools you use are judgment, planning, and communication. You lead people to deliver results. You adapt to the challenges and continue delivering results.

There are elements you need that you will not control. I recall being an engineering manager and needing the cooperation of product management to develop a set of requirements that I could deliver to my customers within the expected timeline. Without reasonable requirements, my team would not be able to deliver anything on-time.

I recall accepting a position as VP of Product Development and I banked my success on the fact that I would have authority over both engineering and product management. I believed that controlling the “what” and the “how” of the product was developed led the key to success. As we developed a new product, it became clear to me that without help from my peers in sales and marketing our products would be considered flops.

Develop relationships with your peers and establish cooperative goals that can allow you to claim success together. You can develop common goals and deliver results together. You have become independent to lead your team, and are now interdependent on your peers to deliver results the organization needs.

Imagine looking over your work from the past year and saying, “I did not deliver results because this other person didn’t do their job.” Even when true, this statement sounds like an excuse. You may be able to escape direct blame. Can the organization survive if nobody delivers results?

Consider the conversation with your boss., “So what did you do about that to avoid missing your goals?” Would you rather have a performance review full of excuses or tangible results you have delivered? As you become more senior, the expectation is that you will find a way to deliver results.