LEADERSHIP: THE LOWEST-HANGING FRUIT

Published: 2009-09-07   please add a comment below

To the question "Why aren't things going to plan?", a cynic commented "Because there ain't no plan."  And, from time to time, this afflicts all aspects of business.  The well-conceived launch is modified so often it ends up having no real plan.  The technical upgrade is derailed by a system failure and morphs into a series of ad-hoc adjustments.  The long-planned acquisition becomes overrun by legal and ego battles, and key conditions get forgotten.  The results: time and cost overruns; and, crashed performance.  But, for leadership, most people don't even start with a plan - of actions to ensure people will want to deliver a successful project.  And, that's why leadership is the lowest-hanging fruit of performance improvement.  And, it's also high-energy fruit, affecting all business functions.

Why don't leaders plan?  Reflecting on my own experience, I'd summarise it under two headings or excuses: one semi-forgivable, the other not!

• Conflicting priorities: I've lots to do and need every minute for "business" issues: meeting customers, improving specifications, cutting cost, etc.
• Arrogance: I know what people need - and the way I lead generally works; and, anyhow, I'm the boss!  I don't need to plan things like leadership.

The net effect?  Some successes but also serious failures - hurting both business performance and personal standing.  If a launch, upgrade or acquisition is worth planning, then why not your leadership actions too?  After all, leadership is the key driver of how well you leverage your people's talents: aligning, motivating and engaging them to deliver the business plan.  It's therefore probably the most important multiplier of all.  And, yet we mostly do it on the run - and by default.

There was a time when many business functions and disciplines were more art than science.  But, by now they're analytical and codified - think Operations or Finance.  Even the more free-form functions, like marketing, rely on customer segmentation, test marketing, sales analysis - and making plans!  But, leadership still relies mainly on a meld of theory and opinions, supported by backward-looking profiles and aptitude tests.  There's seldom a plan of what our teams need from us - to energise them and build endurance.

It's this gap that V|E|C|T|O|R fills.  I wanted a tool, which leaders would find: practical (action-focused, not theory-driven); specific (to their current team and challenges, not just generalisations); on-the-record (like any good plan, so it can be shared and monitored); and, integrative (across both hard market and technical issues, and the soft ones of people and culture).  And, being online makes it great value for money!

So grab that low-hanging fruit.  Develop your Leadership Action Plan to deliver the sweet rewards of team commitment, performance uplift and career progression!

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®