Dear Bob ... I was recently promoted to my first leadership role, after having spent most of my career as an individual contributor. I've been reading leadership books to help me make the transition, but frankly, most of them don't provide much in the way of practical advice and the few that do provide the kind of guidance that's hard to remember when I'm in the thick of trying to lead my team to victory, as it Dear Bob …I was recently promoted to my first leadership role, after having spent most of my career as an individual contributor. I’ve been reading leadership books to help me make the transition, but frankly, most of them don’t provide much in the way of practical advice and the few that do provide the kind of guidance that’s hard to remember when I’m in the thick of trying to lead my team to victory, as it were.Can you give me a simple guiding principle I can use as a starting point? I’m looking for something that’s easy to apply, and in particular is easy to remember when I’m up to my kiester in alligators. – Trying to drain the swampDear Trying …You ask an excellent question. Even better, you ask a question that’s a great way to start the new year. As a fledgling leader, and for that matter as the CEO of a large corporation, Focus the Team on the Goal.Start with the Goal. Make sure you know what your goal is. Not your goals … the long, bulleted list of things to accomplish this year. The Goal – the organizing principle on which the laundry list is built. If you like words like Vision and Mission, that’s what they’re for – they establish a clear, compelling picture of what you and your team need to achieve, and why it’s important.Next comes focus. Your world, and the world of those who report to you, is filled with three kinds of task – those that move you toward your goal; those that are consistent with your goal but don’t actually help you get there; and all that other stuff that clutters the landscape and gets in the way. As a leader, you want to help your team spend as much time as possible on the first of the three and just as much as necessary on the second. Help them avoid spending any time at all on the third category. When you read about leaders who clear away obstacles, this is what you’re reading about.Then there’s the overused word “team.” Few goals worth achieving can be achieved by single individuals. As a leader, you should constantly monitor the interpersonal dynamics of those who report to you. You walk a fine line here – intervene too much and you turn the adults who report to you into children who rely on you to mediate; intervene too little and you risk having a high-trust, interdependent team devolve into an unfocused collection of individuals.Focus your Team on the Goal. Not a bad New Year’s resolution for any business leader. – Bob ——– Technology Industry