Too much to change. Too little time. Constantly shifting goals. People who can’t see what they need to see. You know where you want to go but you can’t get there from here.
Welcome to the reality faced by leaders and managers every day. You might be leading a multi-million-dollar corporation or you could be the executive director of a local charity, this reality transcends organizations.
Becoming overwhelmed, not knowing where to begin, getting frustrated, worrying about making things worse, giving up, and/or losing your way are all possibilities. You are not alone.
You can do this, you will succeed, you are going to make mistakes, I offer some maxims that have helped me. They are not complete solutions and are meant to be starting points, but these dozen or so nuggets do work.
Just because you are the only one who believes in something, doesn’t make you wrong. Never be afraid to trust yourself. The problem with conventional wisdom lies in its definition. While it is good to use lessons from the past, remember that you are making decisions here and now, this moment has never existed before so don’t be handcuffed to the past. Leaders get paid to lead, being bold and innovative often results in being in uncharted territory, but that’s how change happens.
Be unbiased and open-minded. When faced with a dilemma, begin with an examination of the facts, look at alternatives, and then make the best decision you can with the time allowed. Seek input, surround yourself with people who have different perspectives, and never feel that you must be the smartest person in the room. Additionally, appreciate that few things are ever just black and white, work nuance, and improve incrementally.
Believe you can make a difference. There has never been anyone exactly like you. Your skills, experience, and attitude can combine to be the catalyst for success. Use your attributes to inspire other people to grow and offer leadership and encouragement so that the sum of individual efforts is greater through collaboration and connectivity.
Embrace and develop “Willing Cooperation.” I have met many managers who believe the sheer force of their will or charisma is enough to get people to do what they want. They are wrong. I have used this approach and I was wrong as well. Building relationships, listening to people, and developing people is the only way to succeed over the long run. Demonstrate value and work with people, this approach does not imply that you allow people to do whatever they want, to gain willing cooperation sometimes some people will leave; however, your goals, the organization’s goals, and your people’s goals can all coexist and grow through the adoption of willing cooperation.
Be flexible and steadfast. This does not have to be a contradiction. What needs to be accomplished should be prioritized and divided into short, medium, and long-term objectives. Every scenario and situation requires decisions and compromises to be made, if as a leader, you can keep focused on the long-term goal but allow your short and medium-term goals to bend while keeping them in a reasonable arc, then flexibility can be achieved without sacrificing your objectives. Rigidity and entrenchment don’t build success, only resentment and frustration.
Learn from everyone and everything (part 1). You are going to be wrong and you are going to fail. Most people get frustrated, angry, and sometimes they lose faith in themselves. Leaders, effective ones, appreciate this happens and try to maximize their return on their bad luck (thank you, Jim Collins). They ask, “What did I do right, what did I do wrong, and what would I do differently next time,” understanding that they can learn from every experience. This is also true with people, listen, watch, and learn from everyone around.
Learn actively (part 2). Be actively engaged in your community, with your industry or sector, read, visit competitors and/or similar organizations, and always be looking for new and better ways of doing things. The reason change is necessary for every organization is that everyone else is getting better and our worlds are evolving.
Do something. When teetering on the edge of being overwhelmed make a plan. It doesn’t have to be a comprehensive plan, but start where you are, with what you have, and do something. Using another of Jim Collin’s strategies, “fire bullets before cannonballs.” My advice to people who are frustrated is to pick the “easiest and biggest” tasks first. Just like a student writing an exam, do the questions you know first before tackling the questions of which you are unsure. These are the easy bullets, they don’t require huge commitments or resources, and they are quick and can be accomplished immediately. Save your time and energy for the more complex ones, and give yourself more time to plan, to consider, before investing in and launching a “cannonball.”
If what you are doing isn’t working, do something different. When embarking on a plan or strategy, it is important to decide, “What is success going to look like and how will I measure it?” If you or your organization’s results are not achieving your definition of success, then the decision to change course becomes much easier. Effective leaders know not every plan works, and when a mistake is made, they own it and willingly adjust or change their plan.
Be humble; appreciate and empower your people. Trust, loyalty, respect, and the willingness of your people to follow your leadership are earned every day. When things go well, credit your people and their efforts, when things go poorly, take responsibility and ownership of the results, shielding your people. You know that people will make mistakes, especially while they are learning; build their confidence and their responsibility through your example.
Question and challenge everything. Inertia and stagnation are the enemy of success, innovation, and creativity. It is possible to respect past decisions and actions without being held hostage by them. Additionally, if your systems and processes are still effective, continue but always strive for better and more efficient ways of doing things. Try to avoid being held hostage by people instead cross-train tasks and responsibilities to share knowledge and develop more of your people. Too many organizations allow one person to control key functions limiting fresh ideas and placing too much reliance on that individual.
Never forget what makes you special. A person or organization’s competitive advantages are major contributors to what makes them successful and stand out. Training new skills and attitudes should be constant and ongoing because, regardless of your sector, everyone else is getting better and the competition for resources is only increasing. Adoption of this thinking allows for constant growth regardless of how the general economy is performing.
Be better prepared than everyone else. Training is the one element that organizations have almost complete control of. Success though is contingent upon ensuring training provides knowledge that is useful and applied. So much training is wasted by organizations because there are no mechanisms to implement and monitor what is learned. A key component of being prepared is to acknowledge and minimize your own and your organization’s blind spots. Arrogance and complacency often follow success and without checks and balances, people and organizations often lose their competitive edge and/or what makes them special.
Set ground rules. Every team or organization should have a set of ground rules for acceptable behaviors and rules of engagement. These ground rules can be part of a team charter. When everyone agrees and understands how their organization works, people be better able to succeed. Ground rules should “live and evolve” and are foundational components of successful organizations.
Make the difficult decisions. Effective leaders earn their money, not when everything is working well, but rather, when everything is coming apart. They make the hard choices promptly. When you are frustrated, under pressure, and overwhelmed, that is the time for you to shine. Appreciate the opportunity you have and make the most of it.
A small caveat, every leader will face a situation where it is impossible to win, as with all of these points, do the best you can and trust yourself.
You will always find situations where you or your organization must change more or faster than what is comfortable for you or your people. Often you will not have enough time. Your board of directors or owners will have shifting or conflicting goals, and some of your people will argue and resist everything you try to do. It can seem impossible which is why a plan and tools are so important. Consider the elements of this post to be elements or tools to create an initial plan. Expand by involving your people, empower them to suggest improvements, and embrace the challenge for the opportunity it is.
Good luck,
Paul.