DitchDodging

How often do we feel like we run off into the ditch in organizational work. More often than not, our getting into the ditch has to do with the complexities with which we are dealing. As one of my mentors is fond of saying, "There's a whole lot of ways to get it wrong, and very few to get it right." The more complex the issue, the more "wrong ways" there are to deal with it.

As leaders, we are wise to keep our effort/attention on the BIG PICTURE, the worthy outcomes we pursue. We also own the responsibility for managing the attention/effort of the entire team in that regard.

How can we effectively deal with the inevitable complexities (and stay out of the ditch)?

1. Clarify and condense the Vision so that it is easily understandable and communicate-able. 
2. Communicate that Vision in many ways, loudly, across a wide array of platforms. No one should have any confusion about what it is we're trying to accomplish.
3. When dealing with complex dilemmas, gain the perspective and insight of a wide array of stakeholders. In each engagement, embed communication of the Vision.

Sometimes we take the interstate. 

    Sometimes we take the state highway. 

        Sometimes the county road. 

            Sometimes the footpath through the woods. 

                Sometimes we hack a new path through the jungle. 

In each, knowing where it is we're trying to do -- the Vision -- is essential.

OutcomePacing

A wise and valued mentor of mine (aka ED) drew my attention to one of the biggest challenges we face in attempting to accomplish important things. ED helped me understand that in most cases, the executive team and the mid-management leadership all share the same vision for the outcomes they espouse. He posited that almost always the differences of opinion spring from each level's expectation around the appropriate pace of the action steps to be deployed in pursuing the vision.

ED shared that wisdom with me 30 years ago. My work and observations since have only underscored the astuteness of his guidance.

Thus, one of the trickiest pieces for us as leaders (regardless of level) is to build teams and systems that can and will move at the pace we need in order to chase that worthy and noble vision (producing the outcomes that provide evidence of our success). 

Let's get to it! (Sooner than later.)

Defensiveness(Less)

Being defensive is not a good look. Especially so for those in leadership roles. Unfortunately, we see defensiveness rear its ugly head from leaders occasionally. 

Some of triggers for defensiveness:

• A little too much ME and not enough WE.
• Feeling like the smartest person in the room, and feeling everyone else should know it.
• Assuming we have a grasp of the full picture, when we don't.
• Lacking experience in high-pressure, high-expectation circumstances.
• When difficult situations pivot to focus on personality rather than facts and contexts.

We've all probably either been the defensive one, or on the receiving end of the ire of the defensive one. Neither is a pretty place to be.

Either way, environments of defensiveness rarely produce positive outcomes or portend strong collaborative relationships. Dialing down the temp is always a good first step. And it can be initiated from either side of the table.

FailForward

"Failing forward" is a phrase we hear with some frequency. And, it makes sense.

IF we are bold... 

     IF we take risks to achieve ambitious and important things... 

          IF we step out of our comfort zone... 

There will inevitably be some fails. 

But, then what? What do we do with that failure? It can make us less, or it can make us more. The choice is ours. A good recovery recipe for when it didn't go like we planned:

• Assess critically and objectively what went wrong. It often helps to have a valued, wise, and nonjudgmental other to assist in this process.
• Accept responsibility for the failure. Own it. Don't play the blame game, the only-if game, the poor-me game. 
• LEARN from the failure. Be intentionally reflective about how the unpleasant experience is gonna make us better.

Then........................tee it up again!

UbiquiVision

The best leaders I know keep us all pointed in the right direction. They make sure we all know where we're headed and why we're headed there. 

They relentlessly communicate the Vision by...

• Making the Vision synonymous with the brand.
• Hiring people who share the Vision.
• Articulating the Vision across a plethora of communication portals.
• Incentivizing progress toward the Vision.
• Building the Vision into the systems.

Even if the contexts are changing (and they always are) and the next steps a bit uncertain (and they often are), those wise leaders keep us all focused on where we are headed. They make the Vision ubiquitous. 

But.......what happens if there is no Vision? Or, if the leader can't/won't enact the strategies listed above? The organization languishes listlessly. (Not hard to predict how that story ends.)

DeathTrajectory

Most often, humans and organizations die from within. As individual humans and as organizations, lack of attention to our "health" accelerates the trajectory toward death. Some argue quite convincingly that healthspan is really more important than lifespan.  

Some things we can focus on in our organizational lives that foster both healthspan and lifespan...

• Purpose - Are we living with fidelity to our "calling," the reason we exist?
• Nutrition - Are we paying close attention to the "stuff we put in" to our lives (Food? Learning? Resources?).
• Peace - Are we taking time daily to notice the good stuff and be thankful for the blessings?
• Holisticness - Are we regularly acknowledging and honoring the contributions of each of the parts and people that make up the whole?
• Accounting - Are we honestly looking in the mirror and at our work with an eye of "ownership" rather than victimhood?
• Improvement - Reflecting on all the above, are we taking small but intentional steps each day to get better? 

This is what the most vibrant organizations do, day in and day out. Works as a recipe for us as individuals, too.

The death part is inevitable. The path toward it, however, is largely in our control. 

ShelvingTomb

Grand plans and lofty projects are often hatched as result of stakeholder conversations. Most of them look and feel extremely important. Some are.

Far too often they are codified (in a three-ring binder) and put on a shelf, usually somewhere in the Boss's office or on a buried page of the website.

Then..........................they die. 

Why? Some reasons that plans/projects die:

• No one is assigned to lead and be the champion of the project.
• The project "champion" has little or no authority act upon.
• Resistors (there are always resistors) are given too much moxie.
• Insufficient, or no, resources are allocated to the project.
• Forecasting the barriers and challenges never happens.
• The plans (which usually mean significant change of some kind) never get consistently and clearly communicated.
• The plan/project is never, or rarely, monitored after the initial crafting.

There is much wisdom in the old metaphor of "sand castles"....

Execution is a craft (the combo of science + art). A learnable skill, if we wish to learn it. And MUCH harder than the crafting of the plan.