Stand-Up Leadership

Stand-Up Leadership

Here we go again.  Feels like 2008 all over again, so I have resurrected something I wrote back then, based on  Holger Nauheimers' "The Change Management Newsletter"

http://www.change-management-toolbook.com

How will you exercise stand-up leadership while global conditions are so uncertain?  

Warren Buffet's philosophy of investing is:  “Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful”.  (He's probably on another buying spree right now). The lesson from Warren here is not just about investing, but it's about having a plan during times of uncertainty. 

Plans, much like our personal character, are not so much formed in crisis as they are revealed by it. What exists internally is revealed quickly when pushed into a corner, or when as is often the case on our nomadic leadership journey, we encounter a new and previously unknown barrier.   

When facing a crisis the tempation is to speed up, become reactionary, respond to the conditions of the moment. Dare I say panic?  Much of the world`s financial instability is a result of this kind of thinking.  Sometimes I wonder if we are living in a 'chicken little' world!.  The alternatives are to make a choice to slow down, take a realistic picture of what is and get in a position to think clearly about the future so that you have some perspective on how to handle today.

Here are 3 practices for leadership in uncertainty:

Slow down

Panic generates speed.  The human fight or flight response to danger is a naturally occuring defense mechanism.  Granted, there may be some things you need to do defensively to protect assets, customers, suppliers and supporters.  But good leaders calm thier own panic by deliberately slowing down their thinking, resisting the panic-reaction.  Your brain is a stage and if there are too many actors on it, internal chaos ensues.  Clear off some of the actors.  Clear your mental space of the clutter that comes with crisis so that you can order your thoughts when others`thoughts are in disarray. 

Friends of mine in another business recently shared with me that we have been conditioned as leaders for forward motion; to always keep the wind in our sails.  The idea of slowing down and coasting therefore means sure demise in a competitive world.  Yet there is a time when `coasting`is actually the RIGHT thing to do.  

Increase agreement

Get used to it.  We are entering a period of time in which high degrees of uncertainty and disagreement will be the norm. 

Therefore practicing skills to increase the degree of agreement among the people directly involved on what should be done ("the truth") with respect to the implementation of any strategy to address the situation is an important factor determining success. 

Bottom line - you can't get to agreement if you don't talk  . . . 

1. Transformational, stand-up leadership is needed. True leaders take tough decisions but communicate them wisely by engaging other people in dialogue and inspire them to take decisions too. If your people see you walking the extra mile by dealing with the issues in an honest way, they will too.

2. Communicate deeply but quickly. In times of crisis people's fears matter to an organization even more than they should during "normal" times. If everybody in an organization believes they are on a sinking ship, they will disengage, thus increasing the vulnerability and accelerating the downward spiral of the organization. Then a negative perception intiates a circle of scepticism, pessimism and finally cynicism. Mechanisms for constant multi-level dialogue need to be implemented to help people assume ownership for breaking the vicious circle of pessimism and loss of confidence. Crisis communication has to be concise but use different channels and apply a broad variety of tools. 

Increase certainty 

Crisis leads to uncertainty and a tendency to process things based on assumptions.  Sometimes it's all you have because no one can predict the outcomes. How can you increase 'certainty' when the world situation offers so little of it?

 

1. Do some deep analysis and practice radical honesty. Think of the Titanic:  

"At around 11:30 p.m., lookout Frederick Fleet stared into the mind-numbing darkness. It had been a miserable night in the crow's nest, scanning for something that would be nearly impossible to notice because of the calm sea. Normally, there would be small waves breaking against the sides of the icebergs, but the sea was so calm tonight that there were no waves. Also, the lookout's binoculars had disappeared after the ship departed from Southampton, so the visibility of the feared icebergs was limited even further." (from: http://library.thinkquest.org/21583/berg.htm).

He never dealt with the issue of the lost binoculars - just hoped he could cope with what he had. By the time he did see something, it was far too late...

Don't hit the iceberg.  Do everything possible to increase the visibility of what is happening. Tell people what you are actually doing to prevent the ship from sinking. Encourage honesty and transparency. Reward messengers instead of shooting them.

2. Short feedback loops. Have regular, short meetings, involving different circles. Get feedback on how your interventions into the system have increased agreement and certainty of the organization. Make decisions based on these feedback loops.

3. Use impartial facilitators for meetings. In crises, people tend be guided by their assumptions and it's difficult to challenge those perspectives. An external, strictly impartial facilitator can help to map out different assumptions and guide teams to productive outcomes. 

Harv Matchullis

Visiontracks Coaching and Facilitation Services 

www.visiontracks.ca  or  info@visiontracks.ca