Delegation is Not Dumping

When things get crazy busy in the trough of chaos, some leaders just dump and run. They race into a meeting, late from their last meeting, and listen for a few minutes before deciding what to do. Then, they speak quickly and dump all of the work onto those in the meeting before running off to their next meeting. It’s a classic dump and run form of leadership. It’s not even command and control which, for the most part outside a strict military hierarchy, is mostly control and command. No, this form of leadership is mostly listen, freak out, react, dump, and run. It never works even if you’ve been doing it for eons.

First, dumping work onto people is not delegation. It’s just plan disrespectful to those who receive it, and who more likely are already busy themselves. Second, it reflects internal chaos rather than just external chaos. Third, it never builds ownership and quality outcomes. It’s just plain sloppy leadership.

When you meet excellent leaders who work for very good companies, they recognize that delegation is the transferring of clarity, focus and the authority to complete a task or project in a timely and accurate manner. They start by building ownership and clarity. This happens before the act of delegation takes place. When an excellent leader builds a day to day work environment where people are respected, trusted and treated with dignity, this same leader also role models these characteristics. Then effective delegation is a successful by product of their initial work.

Next, when an exceptional leader does delegate, they first make sure people understand the problem they are trying to solve and understand the decision architecture around the problem, i.e. who can and who can not be involved and how to make the important decisions related to the issues that are being delegated.

Finally, exceptional leaders recognize that the day to day experiences of employees impact not just the day to day life of the company, but also impacts the company’s ability to execute it’s strategy. I keep reminding leaders at this time period that the ways they lead and delegate in 2018 have a direct impact on what kind of company they will be in 2023, a mere five years away from this winter.

This week, do not choose to dump and run. Coach everyone within your circle of influence to not do it either. When we no longer tolerate poor delegation, we are making a long term commitment to doing the right things for the right reasons.

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

The Great Leap Backwards

With so many leaders feeling overwhelmed, many are defaulting to command and control leadership as their primary mode of operation. Whenever I encounter it now, I think of it as the great leap backwards. I know most leaders are choosing this way of working with people because they do not know any other way that will work, especially when change is so constant and messy.

In seminars now, I often point out that most senior leaders are either recovering controlaholics or just plain controlaholics.  It’s what got them to this level of leadership but clearly what will prevent them from becoming an exceptional and transformative leaders.

However, the push back I get from these same leaders is consistent. They routinely point out the importance and need for organizational order and predictability. Now, I am not against order and predictability. In daily operations, these are important, but I am against the great leap backwards to command and control as the primary and only means of helping people move forward through strategic change.

As I explain in seminars, command and control is based on fear, intimidation and dominance which does not generate anything more than forced movement forward. There is no ownership of the work, just work and more work. However, what many leaders desire during difficult, complex and challenging organizational change is for people to be resilient, adaptive, aware and creative.

Yet, what they forget is that command and control as a form of leadership focuses more on stability over change, i.e. the maintaining of status quo. However, successful organizational change, and the leaders who implement it, is often based on the understanding or expectation that there is a better or more effective way of doing something. Command and control, on the other hand, is based on getting something done, and then returning to status quo.

Furthermore, command and control often focuses on lowering that which has caused a level of disequilibrium or chaos within the organization. As a result, it often begins with the what-to-do factor rather than the why-to-do factor. The result over time is that it perpetuates passivity, resistance and resentment. It also involves assigning blame which rarely results in greater clarity and commitment from all involved.

There is another way of leading in difficult times but it requires a great degree of discipline and thoughtfulness.

First, we need to focus on alignment. Leaders who comprehend the importance of alignment recognize that the interconnectedness of the strategic nexus, i.e. the union of mission, vision and values with the strategic plan. These leaders are in an agreement in thought, word and deed with this nexus and act and work in accordance with this nexus. They choose to lead others with a strategic mindset rather than an efficiency initiative perspective.

Second, these same leaders focus on making sure they are creating the future rather attempting to control it. They understand that we are leaders and followers are really co-creating the future. It is not a “I create and you follow” mentality, but instead it is a “we create together” perspective. As Margaret Wheatly reminds us, “People only support what they create.” 

Therefore, leaders need to continually build trust and rebuild trust on a regular basis. They also need to show up, pay attention and listen carefully to others. This careful consideration of others’ perspectives needs to be taken into account, because it creates psychological safety to see what is really happening rather than what we think should be happening or want to be happening.

Third, these same leaders focus on empowerment. I think this is one of the hardest choices a leader can make, because it means giving up control which is something we often think we do, but in reality rarely do. It means choosing not to default to command and control even when the work is difficult.

The U.S. Department of Defense Dictionary defines command and control as “the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission.” What most people do not recognize is that effective command and control is based on a bi-directional flow of timely and accurate information. Yet, this rarely takes place outside military circles because most people who default to command and control do it through fear and intimidation rather than respect and integrity.

When we as leaders choose to focus on alignment, co-creation and empowerment, it means we have to work from a place of clarity, commitment and connection. And those we work with have to know why the work needs to get done, not just how and what needs to get done.

This week, do not choose to make the great leap backwards. Instead, seek a new path so we can engage in the meaningful work of building a better and more effective future for all involved.

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

The Great Leap Backwards

Given the rise of constant change, high market volatility, and continual organizational struggles to build infrastructure to match ever-increasing expectations related to performance, many leaders are making a great leap backwards to command and control leadership as the only solution. Right now, I am witnessing an increasing number of executives who are deploying this form of leadership to solve all of their problems as fast as possible. While the initial results may be beneficial, and help with constant, messy change, the major problem with this form of leadership is that it often comes wrapped in fear and intimidation, resulting in few people willing to take a risk outside their comfort zones.

However, there is another choice. It is to gather with other senior executives at the Spring 2014 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable on April 9 - 10 in West Des Moines, Iowa, and to explore alternatives to command and control which generate improved focus, commitment and effort. Here is a link for more details on this unique learning opportunity:

http://www.chartyourpath.com/VTA-RT-Details.html

I hope you can join us as we seek to find more effective pathways to clear and effect action.

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