How do leaders successfully deal with accelerated change, chronic uncertainty and rampant complexity? - part #1

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down for dinner with three leaders from three different organizations from three different parts of the country. All of them were struggling with the same issues and problems. All of them were wanting to help their teams become much better. All of them were zooming in to fix things rather than zooming out to understand the bigger picture. So, I decided to open our dinner conversation about what each of these leaders were seeing as the big picture trends that were influencing their work and society at this time period. 

First, all of the leaders gathered talked about the huge retirement wave that is happening across the country. Many called it a silver tsunami with major implications, especially in the areas of loss of understanding, clarity and experience. 

Next, those gathered talked about the aging of society in general, healthcare challenges, and their intense worry about a possible recession in the midst of it all.

Third, many shared about how current political actions feel like we are perpetuating adversarial relationships more than building collaborative relationships focused on common goals.

Finally, all of them talked about the many challenges they are having with recruitment and retention of talent. Each acknowledged that If you don’t take care of your people, they will leave for better compensation. As I listened, I kept thinking of Packard’s Law which states that no company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth with excellence.

The upshot of this big picture conversation was the recognition that leaders and organizations need to be more nimble - i.e. able to learn and understand things quickly and easily, agile - i.e. move quickly and easily, and flexible - i.e. willing to change and try new things.

Over the course of this wonderful dinner meeting, I had three thoughts and I will share two of them with you today. First, we are clearly operating within a VUCA environment which is a military meaning volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment within which we can rarely predict, influence or govern most events. We also are living through a “continuous series of not normal times”, referencing the work of Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen in their book, Great By Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, HarperCollins, 2011.

Second, all who were gathered that evening were worried about “knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns.” Former U.S. defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld made this famous phrase in 2002. As he explained” “there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don’t know we don’t know. And … it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones.” 

In a market-driven economy where every one and every thing is in the danger of being commoditized, we as leaders need to do some serious and in-depth reflection to determine if we as individuals and our organization have the capacity to be nimble, agile, and flexible. Given the world we live in right now, this is no longer optional. Understanding the bigger picture always helps us make smarter choices over time. 

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

How do leaders on-board the next generation of high-growth opportunities while managing daily operations? part #1

I had been called in to figure out why one key department was constantly not functioning well. There was urgency to the situation because a major acquisition was coming. To be understand the situation, I visited with the CEO, COO, SVP, HRO, and the department head over the course of one day.

That night, over dinner, the HRO said to me, “the more people talk about this problem department, the more I am confused.”

“I agree”, I replied, and thought to myself the following quote by Konrad Adenauer: “We all live under the same sky, but we do not all have the same horizon.”

The problem in this situation was that all involved were zooming in to fix “the problem” rather than zooming out to gain perspective. My starting place was to ask a series of big picture questions:

- What is the purpose of this department?

- What are the goals of this department?

- What are the KPI’s of this department?

- What are the expectations related to performance within this department?

You could have heard a pin drop at the table that evening as I shared the answers I had gleaned. Not a single individual was on the same page.

When we step back and look at the bigger picture right, we realize that we are living in a period of “profound disruption”, a new Margaret Wheatley phrase. We are seeing the deification of numbers and data, and yet are not seeing clarity about the difference between data and useful information. We also are seeing communication without connections and the rise of polarization. In the midst of all of this, exhausted professionals want to make a difference but are stymied by factors beyond their control or impact. The outcome of this reality is that now, more than ever, many people are considering and others are walking away from the leadership table. As they report to me, it’s just too much work.

Meanwhile, everyone is wanting to grow their organization. They want to serve more people, do more good work, and make a difference in the lives of those who are serving. Few leaders understand that with growth, distractions and complications multiply.

At the same time, the challenge of on-boarding new ideas, which would generate this desired growth, is that people want to solve all the problems and standardize all the processes before action. This is just not possible. We forget that solving problems creates more problems

Finally, operational management is trumping strategic execution. Introducing change or a new strategic plan has become an event rather than a process. Introducing change into a world of dysfunctional teams also does not make them functional; it actually increases their dysfunctional nature. 

And last, but not least, we have to recognize that managers are not leaders; both are important, but we need leaders! We especially need leaders who can unite us and create clarity.

This week, step back from the big pictures challenges and complexities and focus on the following questions:

- What is the purpose of this company or department?

- What are the goals of this company or department?

- What are the KPI’s of this company or department?

- What are the expectations related to performance within this company or department?

Finding the answers to these questions will create alignment and better choices when it comes to taking the next steps into the future.

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257

Count Your Blessings

This week across the country people will be gathering for Thanksgiving and Hanukah celebrations. Families will come together, share stories new and old, and eat some fantastic food. There will be laughter, tears, much sharing, and reflection. And someone around the table will comment about how fast time is going by and someone else will say how grateful they are that we all came together.

Many years ago when I was teaching seminars on stress management, I used to ask a series of questions to my students: “How many of you remember your parents? How many of you remember your grandparents? How many of you remember the names of their parents?”

These answers always led the group into a discussion about taking the long view on life. Sometimes the things that seem so big are really so small when we step back from the present moment. Sometimes we get so busy we forget momentarily what is most important.

This week I encourage all of us to learn more of our own family history. Listen again about days gone by. Learn more about your parents’ parents.  Explore their days, their lives and their challenges. By gaining this knowledge, we can put our own life back into perspective and perhaps grasp some keen insights about living well and healthy during this life time.

My hope for all of you is that you will count your blessings this week and be very grateful for all of the friends and family that you have. Much joy and happy celebrations to each of you!

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257