Three Minute Wisdom Knowledge is not enough. True leadership is informed by wisdom. The ideas presented here are intended to arouse your curiosity, provoke your thinking and encourage insightful action to help you achieve the things that matter.
All leaders confront this dilemma: we are responsible for things we cannot control. This fact is an inherent part of managing any organization. We are responsible for producing results but we do not control all, or even most, of the factors that contribute to achieving these results.
And because leaders get things done through other people, the dilemma gets even stickier. People (at least the high-performing people we all want) are high on the list of things you can’t control. Actually, this is good news. We need people more for their ability to creatively solve problems than for their ability to dutifully carry out precise orders. So the fact that high-performing people are, in end, more creative than controllable is a good thing.
In the face of this dilemma, leaders can choose one of two strategies to produce results. For the sake of convenience, let’s call them the strategy of coercion and the strategy of engagement.
With the strategy of coercion, the leader starts by using her positional power in the organization to make decisions or edicts about how things are going to be. At first blush, this seems quicker. And because leaders feel pressure to obtain quick results, the strategy of coercion can seem alluring. But a leader using her power this way will soon run into the “problem of resistance.” That is, her creative people will have different ideas about how decisions should be made.
The leader then has to strategize ways to “get people on board,” which can range from micro-managing to manipulating to bullying. All of these tactics fall along the scale of coercion. When people feel controlled or otherwise without influence over their work environment, several things can happen and none of them are good: 1) they become resentful and withdraw their creative energy, giving you compliance instead of commitment; 2) they feel fearful and look for security, which leads to a culture of blame and hidden information instead of a culture of innovation and learning; 3) if they are your best people, they will probably leave.
The strategy of coercion never produces long term results. Successful leaders know that to sustain high performance over time requires the heartfelt commitment of the people they work with. This commitment is evoked by way of invitation, not fiat. How do we foster this commitment without resorting to control? By creating the conditions that allow people to willingly choose to contribute their energy and talent to the goals of the organization’s. There are many ways to pursue a strategy of engagement, let me suggest four here.
Appeal to Common Interests Everyone in an organization has two main sources of motivation that guide their actions: self-interest and group-interest. That is, everyone is always assessing what is best for themselves, and also assessing how they can best contribute to the desired outcomes of the group. This is not bad, it is just the way we all are. People have a natural survival instinct and want to have their security needs met. They also want to contribute to a cause larger than themselves. Both of these forces are at play all the time.
In an organization where there is a high overlap between self-interest and group-interest, people are enthusiastically committed to the company’s vision and goals. They willingly go the extra mile for the sake of the company. If the overlap between self-interest and group-interest is low, people expend energy covering there own behinds first and only give what is left over to the company.
A major reason top leaders enjoy lasting success is their ability to align self and group-interest. If there is good two-way communication and input regarding the strategy, vision and values of an organization, people can find a piece of themselves in the dream. This makes work more meaningful and more productive.
Share the Power of Decision-Making Delegating authority to make decisions and take action is the antithesis of micro-managing. It is the hardest to do for leaders who were stars in their technical fields. But involving people in the power, and responsibility, of decision-making is the surest way to foster commitment.
Delegation is a continuum with varying degrees of authority and feedback reporting. The amount you delegate will depend on the experience and talent of your staff. It also includes forgiveness for the mistakes that will always accompany risk-taking. You cannot build a culture of learning without allowing people to try innovations that may not work. The key is that when you fail, fail forward. Ensure that mistakes result in learning, not punishment.
Be a Model of Integrity Leaders live in a fishbowl. People have exceedingly high expectations of their bosses and scrutinize their daily choices in decisions, actions and language. And the higher up in the organization you are, the larger your fishbowl and more impactful the perceptions of your decisions, actions and language.
The key to integrity is to act with consistency. In addition to acting ethically, which is a given, this means clearly expressing your values to others and consistently basing your actions and decisions on those values. People want to know what their leaders stand for and that they will stand for that every time. Think of the people you have worked for who had strong integrity, a leader you would walk through fire for. Be immaculate in your integrity and you will inspire others to walk through fire for you.
Recognize People Reward the behaviors you want with recognition. Everyone wants to be acknowledged. It takes very little time but it goes a long way in oiling the wheels of life’s daily grind. Very few people look back at the end of a long project and say, “I was over-appreciated for my efforts.”
My number one hint for new managers is to recognize individuals with hand-written thank-you notes. Unless you have received a hand-written note from a boss or other company official, it is hard to describe the impact of this simple act. I have known people to save them on their wall for years. They are well worth the time.
Pay attention to the individual needs of your people. Some people like public acknowledgment and some do not. Don’t announce your gratitude for someone at the annual all-staff meeting if it would truly cause them more embarrassment than satisfaction. A private, but heartfelt, acknowledgment would fit the bill.
As a leader, you achieve results through the work of others. And you cannot engender the best in people by using methods of power and control. Lasting success requires a strategy that involves and engages your people without using coercion or manipulation. Don’t worry about giving up control, you never really had it anyway.
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