What Makes a Great Leadership Team
If you’ve been around and paying attention in the last twenty years or so, you’ve no doubt heard the phrase ‘the smartest guy in the room’. That moniker has been attached to the leaders of Enron, to those on Wall St and in government as our housing market, and overall economy, collapsed in 2008. In these cases, and many others similarly labeled posthumously upon reflection of the sure thing turned epic failure, ‘smart’ had nothing to do with it. What they had was rank and power which is too often used, albeit incorrectly, as a substitute for intelligence, foresight, leadership, intuition, acumen, or the ability to think strategically on where a business and an economy may be going. While most of us can recall the broader detail of high-profile failures or scandals throughout the years, these examples can be found by many of us every day right within our own teams and organizations. Consider what your organization is like, how it communicates new business initiatives or change, and how decisions are made.
Think of your last meeting, whether a team meeting in person or video conference, perhaps ten to twenty people, or the last big conference off site at a beautiful hotel with hundreds of people in attendance. Typically, it is the executive team, or highest-ranking business leader who leads the way, disseminating information, sharing updates and plans or strategy for the coming weeks, months and even years. Those in attendance take notes, smile, nod approval here and there, and generally accept that what has been shared as the right way to go. It is why at the end of each segment when some time is left for Q&A, so few hands are raised with a truly meaningful question, let alone a question that might suggest disagreement or doubt in the plan. Most employees are ready and actually prefer to ‘play ball’. They just want to believe in what the plan is.
That does not mean that we all run with every company decision on blind faith because the leader of the organization said so. People are smart enough to understand strategy, particularly when they have been part of a team or organization with a track record of success. In such situations, we are far more inclined to accept and adapt to what is new or changing in our world even if we have had little or no part in the decision-making process. It may be a leap of faith based on the confidence and credibility a company and leadership team has built over time and is a positive thing for a business, and for teams, allowing for nimble and responsive actions to economic and environmental change.
Think about your business, whether you run it, run an organization or team within that business, or are an individual contributor. Every business has updates and makes changes, and the way those changes are communicated, particularly the bigger ones, is typically through a meeting or conference. This is most often done using the ‘tell’ style, meaning the changes, plans, and timeline have already been decided, and this meeting serves to make everyone aware, while also looking to gain their support. It is a tried-and-true manner of getting the information out to the masses. However, without the right level and quality of communication, transparency, and leadership in place, even the best strategy will fail without the support of the recipients of that information download, who are ultimately the ones you need to execute and bring that vision to life.
Whether you are the person in charge or those assigned to follow and carry out the mission, demand great leadership through great communication at all levels, along with as much transparency as you can offer. No business survives with unilateral decision-making. You have a team whose input will drive the success of your business. People don’t care who the smartest person in the room may be and already know who the highest-ranking person in the room is. More often than not, they are not the same person. A great leader should not expect to have, or pretend to have, all the answers, nor expect that everything they say will be taken as gospel and met with ‘oohs and ahhs’ at their brilliance. A truly great leader should be the ‘most curious’ and ‘best listener’ in the room and surround him or herself with people who share that openness and bring the complementary skills that can lead a company to the highest levels of success.
There are always risks to any plan or shift in strategy. That risk shouldn’t come from within and is avoidable for the strong leadership team. The key is to treat with respect the people on your team who truly want to ‘play ball’. Be grateful that you have that and never take advantage of it. Too many one-way, trickle down, messages and changes will eventually backfire. Thus, it is up to the business leader to build or review their system, plan or process for communication and ensure that it encourages people at every level to safely and confidently make suggestions, to participate in brainstorming, even decision-making wherever possible, and to give honest feedback. The greater the voice and stake an employee is given in your business will bring, not only support for changes, but the level of engagement and company loyalty from their employees that every company is looking to achieve.
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