Introduction
“The new corporation is flexible, nimble, and lean,” writes Mike Ross, education research professor at UCLA and author of the seminal publication, The Mind at Work. “Its leaders vigilant to cut costs through consolidation, subcontracting, and outsourcing - and to respond quickly to changes in market demand.” In 2024, the strategic choice to be flexible, nimble and lean is going to continue. Therefore, leaders and managers at all levels will have to cope with, and lead in an ever shifting, never-certain reality, where numerous unforeseen variables and market challenges abound.
Scott Eblin in his book, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success (Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2011) shares research conducted at Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business. As he notes, the top reasons that leaders fail in rapidly changing situations are the following: ineffective communication skills, poor work relationships and interpersonal skills, failure to clarify direction or performance expectations, and failure to adapt and break old habits quickly. From my perspective, all of these reasons for failure can be overcome through learning, development, and coaching. They all fall within our circle of influence, referencing an old Stephen Covey term.
Yet, starting in the spring of 2023, I noticed the emergence of a unique trend. More and more young leaders and managers did not know key information, and did not have the foundational experiences needed to lead people through challenging times like we are experiencing right now. It is as if they were given a collection of dots, metaphorically speaking, and now are not able to connect the dots, and utilize them to solve operational and strategic problems.
If we seek to create a company that is flexible, nimble, and lean during the coming three years, then it is critical to our success that we help this group of people connect the dots, not just provide them with a collection of dots. We need to help them put various facts, ideas, and concepts together in such a manner that they can see the whole picture and understand things from a more global and strategic perspective. When we choose to do this, we know that over time people will make better choices and will make better decisions. In simple terms, when young leaders and managers can connect the dots, then problem solving on a day to day basis, which is big part of being a middle manager, can be done in a productive manner
Nevertheless, in the beginning, senior executives must recognize that young leaders and managers do not understand the geography of change and that they do not have the language of leadership. To correct this problem, we need to focus on the application of theory, not just the learning of theory. For it is in the practice of effective leadership and management that we build capacity and we build resilience to handle the complexities of the ever shifting market conditions before us at this time period.
Build A Core For Success
One of the first things young leaders and middle managers are taught during orientation is the mission, vision, and core values. For many, this is nothing more than a sit and listen exercise. There is no unpacking of what these three things mean, or where and how they were created. In simple terms, we give them the information without helping them understand the purpose of them.
Next, there is no connection between the mission, vision, and core values and the problem solving that all young leaders and managers do on a daily basis. This is like handing someone a fine wood working tool. It may be helpful, but not realistic. Instead, an individual will default to a hammer and nail perspective, i.e. if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail, because they feel competent with the hammer instead of the fine wood working tool.
In the beginning, young leaders and managers do need to learn the mission, vision, and core values of the organization, and they need to learn what they mean. But most important, they need to know what the mission, vision, and core values look like in action rather than just being a set of words on a piece of paper or a plaque on the wall in the lobby.
Furthermore, young leaders and managers need to learn and practice the core behaviors that translate the mission, vision, and core values into practical and realistic, daily actions and outcomes. The key is to connect ideas within the mission, vision, and core values to the actions and behaviors that make them real, and result in the desired outcomes that we want to be known for as a company.
For on any given day in the busy lives of young leaders and managers, they only see and focus on what they are told to see and focus on. They need assistance to comprehend that the best leaders live themselves into a new way of working and leading, more than just thinking their way into a new way of working and leading. When young leaders and managers comprehend the importance and purpose of the mission, vision, and core values, they grasp that it is the core from which success is generated over time. It is something we live and talk about on a daily basis. It is the framework for action and the compass that guides our path during challenging times.
The second element to a successful core is a successful strategy. This is a term commonly used but rarely fully understood because it has three different elements within it. First, strategy is an extensively premeditated, carefully built, long term plan designed to achieve a particular goal. At the same time, strategy needs to be adaptable by nature due to unforeseen variables rather than presenting a rigid set of instructions or tactics which has the potential to create organizational vulnerability. Finally, strategy serves an important function in promoting ongoing evolutionary success. Every strategy needs to create the conditions by which the organization can continue planning after the current strategy is no longer viable. In essence, each strategic plan needs to be followed by another strategic plan. In short, strategy is premeditated, adaptable, and evolutionary.
Now the challenge for young leaders and managers is that they need to grasp all three definitions of strategy, and to understand them. Then, seniors leaders need to explain what is the company’s specific strategy. And they need to explain how past strategy has lead the company to this point in time. For if we want young leaders and managers to understand the current strategy and to execute the current strategy well, then they need to understand what got us here and where we are going moving forward. In sum, understanding and ownership of strategy are interrelated and a vital key to short and long term success.
The third element to a successful core is an understanding of the term operational excellence. For many young leaders and managers, this term is translated into get things done and then get more things done faster. The focus is on the outcome of execution. However, experienced leaders understand operational excellence from a completely different perspective. For them, they reference the term as defined by Tom Peters in the late 80’s and early 90’s. During that time period, Peters defined the term as a workplace philosophy where problem solving, teamwork and leadership result in on-going improvements or continuous improvements in the organization. This definition focused on the meeting the needs of customers and understanding that customer needs change over time, which is why a company needs to focus on continual improvement.
However, for young leaders and managers, the default meaning of the term is that stuff gets done in the midst of an overwhelming number of problems. Many are not connecting excellence to continual improvement. Instead, they frame up continual improvement as change that is disruptive to order and control. This is where in-depth dialogue and coaching is needed, because young leaders and managers must come to understand that successful change is not episodic, but continual. And they must understand that continual improvement at the operational level should not be based on order and predictability, but instead on improvement and excellence in customer service.
Building a core for success takes time, attention, and discipline. A successful core includes a well written mission, vision, and core values. It also includes a premeditated, adaptable and evolutionary level of strategy. It even includes a deep level of understanding about operational excellence and the importance of focusing on ever-evolving customer needs. When young leaders and managers understand and work with the company’s core, they will become better leaders and managers who have the capacity to be resilient, focused, and thoughtful as different levels of internal and external change take place.
To be continued on Wednesday.
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