When we want to generate successful teamwork during this transition from a global pandemic, leaders need to understand the signal to noise ratio. This is defined as the measure of how much useful information there is in a system in proportion to that of interference.
Right now, there is more noise in the environment than normal and we don’t hear or see the signal or signals that we need to pay attention to make the right decisions. Furthermore, all the signals coming in are weak and overlapping. Thus, we as leaders struggle to discern the difference between signal and noise.
Given all that happened in 2020, and in the first quarter of 2021, we are worn thin as we move toward a post pandemic period. We have little tolerance level for the chaotic, i.e. noise, and we are not sure what signal we are receiving. For that matter, we are somewhat unclear about what signal to send out to others. Some think the key message right now is to grow the business and make more profit. While this seems logical on one hand, it also seems impractical on another hand.
First, we do not know how to manage all the losses that happened in 2020 and in the 1Q of 2021. We recognize “what people resist is not change, but loss” notes Ron Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky in their book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, Harvard Business Press, 2009. The common factor generating adaptive failure is resistance to loss.
So, what do we do?
Right now, when dealing with the feeling of chaos, we are defaulting to technical leadership behaviors in order to restore order and protect self over team. However, Heifetz, Grashow and Linsky in the aforementioned book note that adaptive challenges require leaders to first identify the challenge rather than to simply focus on fixing the problem. These kinds of situations are disorienting and thus a leader needs to remember that adaptive problems challenge norms and current ways of thinking. Rather than focusing on restoring order, a leader may need to be uncomfortable with letting problems emerge so all involved can deal with the full scope of what is happening. This may not be easy but it is important.
Next, these leaders need to schedule regular opportunities for the team to evaluate how the team is working, not just what the team is doing. Currently, many strategic reviews are focused on what we are getting done or not getting done. Few of them are focused on how well the team is or is not working together.
After a year like 2020, some are still feeling consumed by our losses, and one of those losses is the loss of our ability to zoom out before you zoom in, referencing the work of Jim Collins and Morten Hansen in their book, Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, HarperCollins, 2011. As they explain, when you zoom out, it is to sense a change in conditions and assess the time frame. The key question is the following: How much time before the risk profile changes? When we assess with rigor, we then need to ask the next question: Do the new conditions call for disrupting plans? If so, how? Once we have done this level of work, then we zoom in and focus on the execution of the plan.
From my perspective, I think the leaders who become focused on establishing order and control are feeling vulnerable and afraid of being judged by others. Therefore, they define the feeling of uncertainty, loss, being overwhelmed and struggling as a sign of weakness.
Yet, the challenge is to recognize that the outer choices really reflect, an inner feeling of chaos. It is not what is happening on the outside. It is what is happening on the inside. Therefore, the leader establishes order and control over everything and everyone around them. This creates the appearance of stability and order, namely “I am a leader, I am in charge, and I’ve got this.” Furthermore, when feeling pushed, they push back harder. It works to a point, but it also does not work. Over time, people around them feel disempowered and disrespected.
As leaders, we need to learn how to live with the feeling of vulnerability. We need to sit with discomfort and ambiguity. We need to learn new and better ways to deal with uncertainty, risk, and emotional vulnerability.
Remember: “If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.”Asserting control over everything and everyone around us is not a viable way to move forward, even if it gives the false impression that we are “leading our people.”
This week, check your signal to noise ratio and choose respectful pathways to empower people to deal with the current emerging challenges before all of us.
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