…versus the “How” as a Leader
One of the most challenging balancing acts a leader faces is determining how much they communicate what they want the desired results and outcomes to be, balanced against how much they tell those who execute the business how to achieve the desired results and outcomes. I would imagine your first response might be something along the lines of, “Whatever it takes to achieve the goals” or possibly, “ If you want it done right, you need to tell them exactly how to do it”. However, if you view the role of leader against the long-term view of business success, the answer is not so simple.
One would think communicating what to do would be the easier of the two tasks. I maintain they are both equally challenging for completely different reasons. A leader who effectively communicates what needs to be done is not merely reciting a checklist of tasks needing to be completed. It starts with translating the Vision of the business into a meaningful and tangible language for those who execute the business goals. Because the leader cannot possibly communicate every minute detail of the strategy, they must outline enough of the “What” and “Why” for the strategy to succeed. In other words, leaders must communicate their intent to the organization and it is where one of the biggest challenges occurs.
A question every leader must clearly communicate is “What does Success look like?” When the business is successful, what are people in the business doing? What are customers of the business saying about you? What are your vendors doing to support you? The more detailed the answers, the clearer the leader’s intent. Notice there is no mention of how all this occurs, only that when success does occur, this is the picture we see.
Which brings us to the communicating how to achieve the desired results. The process begins with an accurate assessment of the Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge of the team. We know that Attitude, or the Want to succeed is 75% of the overall success equation. If those who execute the business do not believe they can carry out the strategy the leader communicates to them, it is a foregone conclusion it will fail. If they believe in the strategy, success is three quarters complete! The team must also possess the requisite Skills, or how to do the functions to succeed and the Knowledge, knowing when and where to leverage the requisite skills for overall success.
Understanding the necessary Attitudes, Skills and Knowledge in the context of the leader’s intent, presents its own challenge because leaders may have differing perspectives than those who execute the business. As Anais Nin once said, “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are”. One only has to look at the behavioral differences between a Baby Boomer leading a team of Generation X and/or Generation Y associates. The context of the leader’s intent may be translated differently (not necessarily correctly or incorrectly, just differently) leading to less than desired results.
It all starts with effectively communicating a strategy and strategic intent to those who execute the business. If a total stranger walks up to you and asks you to describe what your success looks like, how clear is the picture you paint for them?
Lead Well!
