Handoffs are the Key to Successful Execution
“Handoffs are interactive communications allowing the opportunity for questioning between the various team members providing care to the patient. Handoffs may occur during the time when a patient is moved from one hospital unit to another, sent for a diagnostic test, or transferred to a new physician for care.”– The Doctors, Company Website.
The Doctors Company, the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, has got it right in theory, and I would bet they get handoffs right when it comes to execution too. I encourage you to look at this organization’s web page. I can tell this is a group that wants to accomplish its mission.
Let me tell you why I am writing on this subject. I had the good fortune to have Mitchell Goozé speak to my two CEO groups last month. One of the topics he discussed was the handoff between marketing and sales. This is a transition companies must manage successfully in order to sell products and/or services. Although Mitch was focused on sales and marketing, he prompted me to think about how important handoffs are in business and in life overall.
Let’s take a look at one recent and hugely public instance: The GM Ignition Switch Defect. Here, it seems everyone agrees a proper handoff did not occur. Apparently the first awareness of the problem was in 2001 when GM detected the defect during pre-production testing of the Saturn Ion. Read more.
Here we are 13 years later and a number of people have lost their lives as a result of the problem. According to most accounts, there were a lot of handoffs that were missed on this catastrophe. But this is not about GM. It’s about us – you and me. It’s about how far we go in making sure we complete our handoffs. It’s also about how we accept handoffs.
Making the Handoff
“Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness.” – Margaret Millar
“The most effective communication is that which is understood.” – Source Unknown
Most handoffs start with the spoken or written word. How clear are you as to what you want, what is required or what the other person needs to do? Do you rely 100% on email instead of simply walking down the hall or calling someone to make the handoff? I don’t have anything against email unless it is being used for non-transparent or manipulative purposes or to dump something off on someone without a discussion. In fact, a carefully crafted email can be a thing of beauty. When you take time to compose a message that gives the recipient the full benefit of your thinking, you help to create a clear path to success. Sure you can add a read receipt to the email message but I don’t think that is enough. Follow it up with a phone call or set a time to meet – this completes the steps in a well-executed handoff.
In the U.S. we see handoffs in action when we watch football games. Typically, the quarterback will hand the ball to a running back. I don’t know what the percentage of successful handoffs may be but it is probably in the high 90s. Yes, you will see errors and fumbles, but given the number of people engaged in each play (22), the crowd of bodies on the field and the speed at which the players are moving, I think football teams provide a great example of hand-off prowess.
The key to success is practice, and I know this from experience. My college football coach, John Gagliardi (the ‘winningest’ coach in college football history), was notorious for executing plays in practice. Our defense was charged with responding. Neither our offense nor our defense focused on drilling. Gagliardi knew that in order to optimize the team on both sides, he had to stress play execution and response.
If you are wondering how passing plays enter into the picture in football, view a pass as an extended handoff. Also, regardless of the play, there is a lot of communication going on moment by moment – in the huddle and after everyone is lined up (watch any top-notch quarterback when his team lines up, or notice the defensive captain as he gets a look at the offensive line-up). Can you imagine an offensive or defensive football player withholding information when they see something on the other side of the ball? I can’t. The chatter between team members during a game is incessant. Let me assure you that with any team sport (hockey, basketball, soccer, baseball, etc.) smooth handoffs are a focus.
Off the field, consider any situation where you have been unsuccessful in a handoff. Did you analyze the failure? What was the barrier, block or obstacle causing the breakdown in execution? What could you have been done better to make it happen? This last question is hard one to ask of ourselves because we want to make sure we are self-righteous and not the cause of a mix-up. Some say it is an ego problem if we can’t pose the question to ourselves. I say it is an unhealthy ego problem. Here are the questions to ask yourself to ensure a successful handoff:
- Am I doing everything possible to make sure this move takes place successfully?
- How much do I want this to be a success?
- What is at stake if I am unsuccessful in handing off?
- What does a successful handoff look like in this situation?
Receiving the Handoff
“It is better to give than receive – especially advice.” – Mark Twain
Sometimes we are the recipients of advice but more often than not we are the recipients of work; namely, work that we have to do because it goes with the territory we inhabit. When we are the boss it is our responsibility to receive a handoff from people who report to us. Sometimes – maybe without knowing it – they delegate work up. Our responsibility then may be to send the work back with a directive to stop upward delegation. More often than not, however, people ask our advice or direction, or they are flagging something that requires our attention. Do we sit and admire the problem or do we take the appropriate action? Someone who is in a clearly-defined CEO or senior executive leadership position has to take ownership of the whole enterprise and do what is necessary to advance or protect the organization. Awareness creates responsibility and responsibility creates action.
When we are the one who reports to the boss, we have the responsibility to do the best job we can, and this includes receiving handoffs from others. If we are asked to do something that does not fall within our responsibilities (some people refer to this as being outside their pay grade which is generally not very uplifting), then we should refer it to the appropriate party. But this doesn’t mean we get to ignore the handoff. We keep it moving simply because we sense that someone is trying to hand off to someone else and it was given to the wrong person.
If we are a link in the chain to deal with something or to get something done, then it is important for us to do our job and then to successfully hand it off to the next level. Good team members do this. They contribute to the whole and to themselves in the process. They expand their capacity because they give. As the saying goes, “You can’t build a muscle without working the muscle.” Similarly, you can’t increase your capability without exercising it. I am reminded of the ending of the movie, “The Replacements.” It went like this:
SHANE FALCO (Keanu Reeves):
I want the ball.
JIMMY McGINTY(Gene Hackman):
Winners always do.
Responsibility (and the American way) says that when you see something you handle it, or get it handled. Witnesses or observers can report the details of an accident on the road, but responsibility asks that you do your best to prevent breakdowns from happening. You do your part to keep the roads safe – follow the rules, assist others and treat fellow drivers with courtesy. We can all be handoff pros – responsible people dedicated to accomplishing things. We don’t admire problems – we take great pride in solving them.
And, there is more, there always is.
Be genuine.
Copyright 2014 © John J. Trakselis, Chicago CEO Coaching
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