While the intent of the statement, "I've got an open door policy" is mostly positive, it's naive and out of time and sync in a world where managers are accountable for closing the power gap between themselves and their group members. Get up and get out and narrow the power gap while doing some good.
We're all guilty of building obstacles to progress in our minds. Successful managers learn to unpack those obstacles and overcome the self-limiting beliefs holding them hostage. Here are 8 key questions to help:
As much as we might like to believe people support plans based in good analysis and logic, reality says they act on emotions and in what they perceive is self-interest. This is why effective leaders understand the need to appeal to hearts first and then the minds will follow. This approach helps leaders safely navigate the perilous intersection of of logic and emotion.
F. Scott Fitzgerald offered, "There are no second acts," and mostly, this holds true for our organizations. What's good or great one day often succumbs to market forces and disruptions. Organizational transformation on a large scale is a difficult act, yet some do succeed. In this first in a series of articles, I offer my perspective on at least 4 of the big obstacles that get in the way of success.
In too many organizations, the absence of a galvanizing vision, meaningful, livable values, and a planning process that engages employees from top to bottom result in a form of zombie apocalypse. Instead of purpose, focus, and continuous improvement, people wander aimlessly searching for professional sustenance. If the leaders at the top won't fix this, you need to spark the revolution from the middle.
We've all been in meetings where the latest ridiculous idea from management is greeted with what I term, aerobic head nodding. In many cases, people are afraid to speak truth to power. As a leader, you own curing this problem in your environment. As an employee, you have to decide whether you are willing to sell your self-esteem or risk ticking off your manager. If the issue is important enough, it's an easy choice.
Most of us understand the behaviors that define effective leadership. Sadly, like the behaviors that lead to physical health, we tend to do the opposite. It's time to accept that effective leadership is common sense and cultivate a bit of discipline with our behaviors. Skip the doughnut and do the push-ups.
My recent interview with a CIO from a major publicly traded firm reminds us all that some of our biggest adversaries in our push to survive in this tumultuous world are the caretaker managers inside our organizations.
Observing someone who is highly competent at their work is inspiring. As leaders, we must invest more to find, support, and develop these high performers.
We're taught from an early age in school what we need to do to earn the "A." Unfortunately, the real world isn't that structured, predictable, or kind. Learning to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty in business is essential for survival. Learning to leverage these characteristics is essential for success.
