During a break in the meeting, Dan pulled me aside and whispered, “No more ‘p’ words, please.”
“What are ‘p’ words?” I asked.
“You know,” he replied, “Words like process, perspective and paradigm.”
Dan is results-driven. There were way too many “p” words in this meeting for his comfort … planning … process … people … participation.
At one time or another, many of us have felt like Dan – that it is so much easier to do the work than take the time to involve others in the process of planning for the work – to just decide where you’re going and get on with it.
The problem is, when you’re a leader, you can’t just announce where you’re going and expect people will just do it. They need to get it and buy into it or they’re not likely to just do it.
When people understand and agree with your logic and it resonates with their own goals and values, they move forward on their own volition. But it won’t happen simply because you expect it.
Guidelines for When to Pull People In
Sometimes a simple announcement can work – a clear communication that demonstrates the logic and taps into people’s hopes and desires. Timing is important. When Louis Gertsner, Jr. finally announced his vision for IBM in 1995, everyone was more than ready. He had earned their trust by stopping the financial hemorrhaging and saving the company. His announcement showed where he wanted to take the company, and it was quickly embraced.
However, an announcement often does not work, as Jamie Houghton found out when he had to go back to the drawing board after announcing his vision in his initial attempt to rescue Corning.
Finding the right balance is important. If you are too process driven, you are in danger of losing momentum. If you are too results driven, you are in danger of poor implementation.
7 Guidelines to Balance Results Driven vs Process Driven Leadership
1. You can craft the most wonderful solution or plan, but if you do it in isolation, you might be surprised by the lack of enthusiasm it generates. When people participate in creating a plan, they have a deeper understanding of what’s needed and are more invested in its success.
2. Involve people as early as possible in order to create a “critical mass” of support while continuing to moving forward. The planning process itself creates learning and change for those who participate in it. If you wait too long to pull people in, they will not understand the issues the way you do, nor will they share your enthusiasm.
3. Taking the time to involve people can be frustrating when you already have strong ideas or are feeling urgency. Remember to have patience. Going slow at the beginning will help you go faster and smoother later.
4. Instead of jumping straight into problem solving or planning, first consider who needs to be at the table – who are your stakeholders, what will be required of them for implementation, and what is the best way to involve them.
5. Any plan for a new initiative, for change or for problem-solving, should include a plan for how you will inform and/or involve the people who will need to support it.
6. As you proceed, pay attention to how, not just what, you are doing.
7. Trust your people. Have the courage to ask, listen, and let go of control. You are likely to end up with better results.
In my early career, one of my mentors told me, “Results without process are not sustainable. Process without results is a waste.” As someone who drives large scale change and improvement initiatives with cross functional teams, the ideas in your post resonated so well with me.
In my view, balancing results and process is a cycle – before people even buy in the process, they need a powerful “why” – a purpose that process helps them achieve. But it is only when they see “early wins” that their belief in purpose gets stronger.
Thanks for this wonderful post.
Thanks for these point, Tanmay. “Early wins” are very important. It’s one of the reasons a rapid prototyping approach works so well. And thanks also for sharing that great quote.
Hi
Your 7 point solution is excellent for a leader to strike the balance in an organisation
But, for an organisation where people are having leaders with two different Belief systems then it make employees life miserable . I think we need to understand how to stike a balance between these 2 types of leadership styles as this leads to total disaster in an organisation .
People either get frustrated and leave or remain in the organisation doing nothing ; slowing the entire growth of the organisation.
Actually, this is exactly what is needed for the organization you describe – the organization is out of balance because of lack of focus on “p” words – purpose, planning and people. The leaders must engage in a process to agree on a shared vision and values and how they will involve employees in this process in order to unify the organization. Otherwise, things will continue to get worse.
So true.. This gets to the heart of the problem in almost every org I’ve seen. The recent VA mess is a perfect– and wholly predictable– example. Simple goals, with no assessment of process capability or capacity. Reward and punishment linked only to making the goal. Inadequate processes and grossly overburdened people.
There ARE better ways to change and improve. But we must use approaches and methods that discern between the stuff tnat is currently known to be known or knowable, and that which is not yet knowable. Different approaches for the different kinds of challenges. Different forms of inquiry, learning, exploring, adapting, and assessing results.
Great example of how this plays out! And also thanks for raising the issue of discernment in the processes – I was speaking in generalities, but you are quite right that using the wrong process will cause your wheels to spin. Same is true for the results you are focused on. Activity for the sake of activity does not make sense either. Thanks for helping to dig into this a bit deeper, Bruce.
Jesse, I love this post. “When people understand and agree with your logic and it resonates with their own goals and values, they move forward on their own volition. But it won’t happen simply because you expect it”: is right on. I am finding your points to be relevant to successful Introvert-Extrovert partnerships. Letting go of control and keeping your own needs in mind creates the delicate balance you mention. Thank you!
I think ultimately it comes down to respect – respecting and valuing each person’s unique gifts and their right to live with dignity. The work you do is so important in promoting this kind of understanding. Thanks for sharing your wisdom here, Jennifer.