Do You Have A Leadership Strategy? [Leadership]

Strategy is Overrated

I have been struck by how often my clients come to me with questions about strategy.

What is the best way to…?

How should I…?

How can I avoid/encourage/deflect…?

There are some assumptions embedded in this approach (which we all fall pray to, by the way) that are not particularly helpful.

Unhelpful assumption #1: Situations can be manipulated
If I stage the conversation or paint the picture in a particular way or if I time the move just right… Do you really think the people in your organization (or your stakeholders) don’t know (or won’t find out) that they are being played? And who are you being as you implement the strategy? Are you comfortable with trying to force an outcome? There is a kind of hubris to this approach that isn’t who you are at your core.

Unhelpful assumption #2: There is a right way: If I get it right, I can avoid conflict, inflict less pain, and protect myself from a big ‘after the fact’ clean-up effort or come out smelling like roses. Mmm. As long as you hold to this assumption, you always only have a 50% chance of being right and you or someone else is going to get it wrong aren’t they? And that just opens the door to that lovely voice of judgment that berates you (and those around you) for not measuring up to the moment.

Unhelpful assumption #3: I have to have figured this out in advance
Too often we mistake planning for controlling. Please anticipate needs (your own and others) and reactions. By all means think about what you are going to do or say beforehand. But don’t deceive yourself into believing that even your best effort is complete when you are only strategizing with yourself (or a trusted few others).

So what is a well-intentioned leader to do?

Get clear about your own values and think about what it would look like to approach the situation in a way that allows you to be your most comfortable, honest and real self.

Build up your tolerance for the hard stuff. When you are in the ‘business’ of working with and serving people, you are bound to encounter pain, discomfort and conflict. If you keep strategizing to avoid it, you are either in the wrong profession or you have yet to discover how amazing people can be when they are witnessed in all their humanity and given the opportunity for their creativity to shine through.

Expand your network and keep asking for feedback. Keep talking to the people you know you ‘should’ be talking to. Ask them who else you should be talking to. Talk to the people who are the stakeholders of those people. And do a lot of listening. Listen for new perspectives. What do these people know and understand that you may have been undervaluing? What ideas have gone underground? Put your ear to the floor and find out.

Finally, two resources about Leadership in Uncertain times that really make sense. A 13 minute interview (or transcript) with Marshall Goldsmith on 6 questions leaders should be asking and 5 sound leadership strategies for today’s economy that stand you in good stead no matter the circumstances written by Kate Sweetman, a leadership consultant. My favorite quote from the Sweetman article:

“…when people at the top of the house essentially cease to communicate with the rest of the organization, they need to snap out of it. They are not writing an economics term paper. They are leading an organization, and that means interacting with the people who are looking to them for guidance, and providing those folks with the truest picture the leader can draw about their collective future.”