Leadership - Putting the Pieces in Place

Have you ever tried to put a puzzle together when some of the pieces were missing - particularly the corners? ...Ever tried to put a puzzle together whose pieces were randomly gathered from multiple puzzles? ...Ever tried to put a a puzzle together that whose pieces were contained in the wrong puzzle box - i.e. that had the right pieces in the box but the wrong picture on the box?


It's not that such puzzles are difficult to put together, they are more likely than not impossible to put together! ...IMPOSSIBLE!


Picture puzzles are two dimensional and static. Life is three dimensional, dynamic, ever changing and evolving.


What are the puzzle pieces that leaders have to work with? 


They have an intangible vision - consider it the picture on the cover of the box. It's a picture that only the leader can see. It's a picture others will need to assemble.  


They have passion, strengths, competencies, values, voice, and purpose.


What they need are resources, rules, behaviors, and consequences. They will need to be created or acquired. 


Every piece is important. Any piece can prevent the whole from coming together. Its an all or nothing proposition with real risks in play - its all on the line. 


If the leader has never worked with these pieces before the effort is uncertain, the risks are exponential, and the results incalculable.


Successful leadership is about getting all of the pieces and getting them just right.


What's your vision? Got pieces?


All the Best!


Bob


(c) copyright 2011
Performance Builders

Leadership - Key Questions

13 Important Questions for Leaders...

1. What's more important, your success or the company's?
2. Are you in it for yourself or those you lead? 
3. Do those around you flourish by your leadership?
4. Are you really worth your compensation visa-a-visa other stakeholders?
5. What's more important, getting it done or who gets the credit?
6. What's more important, getting it done or how it gets done?
7. How transparent are you really willing to be?
8. How responsible and accountable are you personally willing to be?
9. How willing are you to admit you're wrong or change your position?
10. How willing are you to be challenged personally for the good of the company?
11. How much control are you willing to relinquish for the sake of innovation?
12. What are you giving back to society personally and as a company?
13. Are you trusted by stakeholders; and is any of that trust misplaced?

These questions are not hypothetical.

All the Best!

Bob

(c) copyright 2011

Performance Builders

Leadership - Drive-by

Leadership is about vision, nurturing, growth, and sweating the details to get things right. Its about the big picture, the big rocks, persistence, how things fit together, and what doesn't belong.


This morning's email finds more drive-by solutions promoted by everyone from the wannabe marketing guru to a Top 5 consulting firm... "Five quick tips to ____", "Three easy steps to _____", "Ten reasons to ____". 


....Drive-by leadership is bait (can you smell it?) that is sent via email to a massive distribution list that includes all of your competitors. Well if the idea was worth something initially, its not worth anything now. There's a reason why those great ideas are free! But that's not saying they don't cost one something by way of lost time, wasted effort, disruption of work, and evidence that management really doesn't have a clue...


Leaders don't want quick and easy because they understand there is no competitive advantage or enduring value created by the quick and easy. The response to drive-by solutions is for smart leaders to simply drive-by.


Too often the same drive-by attitude demonstrated by leadership takes root in the team that's delivering services to patients and clients. ...Ops now there's a problem. 


And, the drive-by leader looks again for the next easy answer that finds its way to the inbox...


All the Best!


Bob


(c) copyright 2011
Performance Builders