The Hidden Challenge of Leadership
It was a meeting of the executive team at an $800m company. The team spoke about the changes the organization needed going into the next fiscal year. Nothing which was brought up was a surprise to myself or the group. Actually, the changes discussed were the same changes that had been discussed the year prior, and the year before that.
A companywide survey had been conducted, validating the importance and urgency of the proposed changes. However, the discussion was the same. Other "priorities" moved into the conversation. Pet projects from individual departments. New growth targets from the board. The changes originally brought to the table began to diminish again in importance and put on the back burner once again. So were these original changes needed insignificant, or was there something else at play?
As a leader, one of the hardest challenges is to stay focused on what's important to the big picture. It's incredibly easy to get pulled multiple directions with competing internal and external priorities. Everyone in the organization has an opinion. However, the core role of a leader is to balance input with focus. Ensuring the organization stays aligned and on track with the overarching principles and objectives of the company as a whole.
While the other "needs" voiced in the meeting were relevant, they became a distraction. The original, recurring challenges were big, systemic, and complex. They weren't "quick wins". They were integral to the organization itself - culture, infrastructure, technology, and communication. However, because of their size and complexity, they continually became labeled as "something we couldn't get done this year", or "too difficult and costly" to implement. Let's wait until next year, they said.
Then COVID came. Some of the "needs" that were too complicated to implement suddenly got completed within less than a week. Others became forced behavior changes due to remote working. These chronic needs which were previously insurmountable suddenly were getting addressed overnight.
Does it take a pandemic to make change happen in an organization? It shouldn't. This organization had many opportunities to take the lead but chose to kick the can down the road. Then they had no choice in the matter. And this brings me back to leadership. Being a leader is about supporting and driving the organization's strategic objectives. Reinforcing what's important to the company as a whole. Keeping everyone focused on the core purpose, and helping squelch behaviors and distractions which don't align with those principles.
This is a big challenge. It's complex and requires not just emotional intelligence but also organizational intelligence. The best leaders create a shared understanding of what's important - and continually reinforce and consistently support that message. They don't engage in unimportant issues. They keep a steady focus on the long view and let the organization keep doing what it does well, rather than chasing shiny objects and being reactionary to short-term distractions.
If you're in a leadership position, don't wait for the next pandemic to push the changes that have been on your "needs" list for the last decade. Embrace the challenge and take on the complex changes - if they are truly essential to your organization's strategic objectives and core purpose. Because that's what a real leader does, even if it's hard.