You’ll have to Work for this Role: unless You’re a Natural?- November 9th, 2015

 

21st Century Business Ideas 

by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Leadership Solutions, Inc.®

“Anything worthwhile accomplishing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” An adaptation of Edison’s definition of a ‘genius.’

    Leader and work-110915

    A colleague sent this writer an email comment, to the affect: “By doing this, they’re going to have to put in a lot of work.” She was responding to one of this writer’s leadership articles. It suddenly hit this writer between the eyes, as to why it’s so tough to persuade people to join the leadership bandwagon.

 

To become an enlightened leader, it may need some personal changes or shifts in approach. Making changes or shifts in approach means “work.” Trouble is, over the years, many change-agent soothsayers have made organizational management sound so easy. A tip here and a tip there and everything will work out just fine.

 

Management gurus have extolled us to build systems: systems that make our people ‘toe-the-line’ and keep us informed about everything. If we can systemize everything, then it all becomes so easy. One system here, one system there, and soon, with systems everywhere, managing will become a dream. Such thinking is a boon to technology folks, who are willing to oblige with whatever system you want. It’s become a $billion industry.

 

This writer’s even heard people, who, about to experience their first career promotion, relish the thought that they won’t have to work so hard anymore once they have a team of people to “manage.” They honestly believe that, “if they work the system,” they’ll have a pretty easy life. All those of a “management” mindset, fall for this notion “hook, line and sinker.” Trouble is we’re sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire. The quagmire of finding it increasingly difficult to motivate and engage people in the workplace. Management systems don’t seem to be working  anymore! What happened to our management dream?

 

Recently, this writer  heard about a client who almost got into a spat with his youngest college-laden daughter. Trying to orchestrate a phone conversation, where both could resolve a mutual issue, became tough. She was devoting all her energies to meeting her professors’ demands. And there was Dad nudging her toward a phone conversation, which was going to need a little patience to say the least. Patiently, he kept nudging…by text (the system) no less!

 

Eventually, one morning, his cellphone exploded with all the text emotions of someone who is being pressed on all sides. Without a phone conversation, he could only text back and forth to try and sooth her angst. Eventually the cellphone conversation came and started with a testy edge, which turned into a positive exchange, and eventually concluded with an amicable solution…Oh! The value of voice over text. By showing voice-empathy for her woes and making valuable suggestions she calmed down. But that meant “work” on his behalf. Coaching, mentoring and leading means work.

 

Leaders do this sort of thing all the time because they care about people and wish to draw the best out of them. And this writer is learning about leadership all the time, but learning means work. Managers are more likely to work the system or build a system so that their daughters don’t become annoyed. Once the system is built, the daughters never get the emotional release of a decent conversation or constructive advice: hence they become a “ticking time bomb.” Their pent up emotions will be dealt with through pills or other carcinogens.

 

But in our increasingly systematized society, we’re creating more ticking time-bombs in our work world and personal lives. Look at the horror stories we regularly read about, where innocent people are gunned down by other stressed-out people. Often this is because we don’t wish to give the time to work through two-way conversations; more likely one-way, as virtual conversations are now part of our system. Don’t get this writer wrong: we can benefit from some of these systems and tools, but do we go too far too quickly in order to reap the intended, sometimes mythical, savings?

 

If we are obliged to have systems, then we also need an antidote to blunt the edges of their intent. That antidote is leadership, which can mitigate some of the outsize intentions of management systems. Leadership in its most basic form is all about people, as follows:

» You engage people with an insightful question: That is, one that is focused on them and not you: “What are some of the especially interesting things you would like to discuss today that will help move our organization forward?” Of course, there are a slew of other insightful questions that can be asked to start a meaningful conversation.

» Once these issues are listed: A leader can then launch into a conversation about concerns and list topic priorities. If the conversation includes a group of team members, they can then be tasked in pairs to consider their list of topics or issues before prioritizing them.

» Either way, quality time should now be allowed: to flush out potential options on top priority issues. Once these options emerge, participants can have a healthy conversation about them and, perhaps, even flush out significant other topics.

» Once these issues-options are mapped-out, it’s time for an emotional-distancing break – be that talking about quite different things, visiting the restroom, or enjoying a coffee break. That e-d break enables their powerful intuitions to work and subconsciously review their millions of relevant, work-related experiences…positioning them to decide accordingly.

» Upon people’s return, participants are invited to vote anonymously for their perceived best options. Why anonymously? To avoid others following the crowd.

» Now you can develop some solution initiatives, devoted to the favored options. Everyone involved feels they have participated. Everyone feels they understand the reasons behind the chosen option(s). And, everyone wants to see something happen. With the emotional investment made, most participants are on-board and ready to move forward.

 

Despite the favorable outcome of an exercise like this, many executives may well think twice about doing it because it means devoting time and effort. They’d rather tell people what to do and get it over and done with – even though many in their team will only be partially on-board because of the “telling” mode.

 

They would rather avoid the conversation, wrapped in the excuse of lack of time. They just don’t seem to realize that when it comes to time, you either make the time now or pay later. That is; if you don’t get your people fully on-board now, you’ll have to pay many more times later on when the assignment is not fully or properly executed. That’s why people are accused of “not being motivated.” Would you rather be just told what to do, or involved in what needs to be done?

 

Most executives, do invoke the time factor. Although finite time is a reality, it should not be an issue when involving people. They are just not a “pair of hands” as defined by Henry Ford: certainly not in the 21st century. But people involvement often requires “work” – both mentally and interactively. It also means giving time – but infinite amounts of time can be saved over the long haul, if you deal with it effectively… now. Funnily enough, the best people leaders always seem to have oodles of time.

 

Maybe to test your leadership prowess, you should take an important step forward this coming month. Devote sufficient time and priority to resolving key people issues this week, this month. By the end of those 30-31 days, you will be relieved at the progress you and your team are making. Repeat next month, and so on. You are guaranteed to have much more time on your hands in three months from now, with many more smiling faces around you. Now you can really start envisioning future leadership possibilities.

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