Leadership & Performance Improvement
Within the practice of leadership, helping others to improve their performance is a complex piece of work. Most leaders avoid the subject and to a degree, they avoid their problem people until there are so many issues and levels of toxicity that they just want to get rid of the person. However, most HR professionals will not let someone be fired on the spot unless they have broken the law, done some thing that is totally unethical, and only when there is an adequate paper trail in place, documenting problems over time in order to protect the company from legal action post the dismissal. Thus, the typical HR response to situations of this nature is to put someone on a performance improvement Plan or PIP in order to coach them up or to coach them out.
In the effective practice of leadership, when we approach people who are struggling at work and we want to put them on a PIP, we often start with the perspective and the question, “What’s wrong with you?” or “Why are you behaving this way?” I have witnessed this line of thought and action many times, and I have rarely, if ever, seen someone improve their performance as a result of these two questions. Most people, who are struggling, just get defensive and are not willing to change.
I have also witnessed leaders who start in a different place and with two different questions, namely “What happened to you?” and “What happened to us?” For what we need to understand is that the difficulties we are seeing at work are often the result of a larger life story or life journey. And in this larger life story, the current problems we are seeing at work reflect their whole life, not just their work life. In simple terms, their personal story and the company’s story are overlapping.
And in the work of performance improvement, we have arrived at a critical moment in time. Our choice to respond with kindness and grace sits with us, not with them. We can choose compassion or judgement, kindness or criticism. But what ever we do, we should not damage them or wound them in the process of helping them improve their performance at work. The best leaders understand this and practice it each and every day. They get that this choice is mission critical to themselves and others, no matter the situation or setting.
Leadership & Progress
Over many decades, I have facilitated and participated in numerous discussions about the subject of strategic planning and progress. Upon reflection, I am reminded of the words of economist Herbert Stein, who wrote: “If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.” From this perspective, often called Stein’s Law, the steady march of progress seems vital to the success of all strategic planning sessions, and all strategic plans
At the same time, others involved in these discussions on planning and progress have reminded me of Packard’s Law that Jim Collins wrote about in his book, How The Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In (HarperCollins, 2009). As Collins noted, “no company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth with excellence.” Whether we define progress as a steady march forward, or consistent growth based on having the right people pursuing excellence, we have to acknowledge that progress and the practice of leadership are interconnected.
Nevertheless, I believe we are missing something in the discussion of progress. First, continual progress is a myth. It is based on the idea that all the stars will be constantly aligned in the right direction and that all plans and systems will work perfectly. Furthermore, progress is based on the belief that every one who is creating it will work as one team and stay focused on doing the right things for the right reason. Any experienced leader will know that this is rarely the case. Nine times out of ten, each day is a mix of chaos, craziness, clarity, and commitment. And some days it is happening at once.
Second, the myth of progress is focused on getting “there,” namely some better or more perfect place than where we are right now. The result of this choice is that we miss being “here” in the present moment. In simple terms, we miss the daily moment of truth where the mission statement becomes real for the employee and the customer. In particular, we miss the opportunity to make a difference for those we serve, to experience connections with the people we work with, and to be transformed, and to be transformative when both these things happen.
Third, the moment we focus on getting “there,” i.e. getting to some point in the near or distant future, we frame up that point as being better, more complete, more perfect than “now.” Then, the moment of “now” is seen as not very good, mediocre, or in complete. This all translates into “there” as being good and “here” as being bad. And this is not helpful to leaders at all levels of the organization who are struggling with the normal and difficult challenges that happen each and every day.
Fourth, instead of defaulting to this false choice and the mythology of progress, we need to embrace a definition of living and leading that values the miracle of “now” and celebrates the possibilities of “there.” Yet, in this new definition, there must be an understanding that we never really ever get “there,” because every time we get close to “there,” it becomes “now.” And today, this “now” is all we have. This moment in time that is happening today is the place where we can make critical choices and critical decisions that have the opportunity to transform this moment of “now” into a wide diversity of possibilities, all of which can make life richer and more meaningful. Thus, the practice of leadership must grasp this perspective and recognizes it’s importance in leading people through the normal highs and lows of daily operations.
Leadership & Convergence
The practice of leadership is a daily act, repeated over and over again. We are not supposed to do it right the first time, and then to be done with it. Instead, we are supposed to do it better each and every day. The mastery of leadership comes in the repetition and the sheer ordinariness of practicing it again and again in so many different situations and moments.
And yet, there is one more element that the best leaders understand. They comprehend leadership from a holistic perspective, and recognize that we must do more than just understand leadership from a cognitive perspective. Instead, these individuals choose to live leadership as the convergence of personal purpose, passion, and the principles that guide their life. The best leaders create space for, and build bridges to an inner life, from which they can see who they were in the past, who they are in the present, and who they are becoming in the near and distant future. For these individuals, leadership means making a difference each and every day in the lives of others, and realizing that others will inherit that the results of our fundamental choices and decisions. As James Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner wrote in their book, A Leader’s Legacy (Jossey-Bass, 2006.): leadership “ is a humbling experience…. When we choose to lead every day, we choose to serve. Leading is not about what we gain from others but what others gain from us.” And this is the perspective and the foundation upon which great leaders practice their leadership on a daily basis.
© Geery Howe 2024
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