Leadership: the new frontier

Published: 2012-02-06   There are 2 comments ... please add yours below

Most of us love the latest thing. Foodies rush to the new restaurant. Techos buy the smarter gizmo. Culture vultures book the must-see show. Leadership groupies chase the latest guru – or tool. Always, the new frontier. But why – and what good does it do you?

As Seth Godin asks: what’s wrong with the old frontier?* That’s where you find bigger opportunities. Often the new is more hype than happening; at the margin not mainstream; mainly fashion rather than function. Fun but showing off. Meanwhile the weightier opportunities are in the older aspects of what you do. That’s where you can make a real difference. Why? Because there’s scale; and, lots to work on. Here are seven old actions often overlooked in favour of some recent craze and hasty policy. So, how well do you …

• Listen? Whether at home or at work, we often fail to be attentive and empathetic – thus discouraging others from opening up or offering frank feedback. Instead of listening, we’re thinking about our own point – and how to refute theirs. Not surprisingly, people tune out.
• Support? If they have the beginnings of a good idea or alternative solution, why not encourage it? Empower them to take initiative, to go further. To assume responsibility.
• Enfranchise? Who in your group feels overlooked? What do you need to do to draw them in and make things more interesting and rewarding? Who in the team could help on this?
• Protect? Your staff is bombarded from many directions: head office, customers, accounts, marketing, personnel and so on. What can you do to shield them from the least important: that HQ survey, marginal meeting or redundant quarterly report?
• Trust? Would your team members say you believe in their abilities and judgement? Or do you give detailed instructions and check every step? What if you gave them space? To make decisions; to be creative in how they do their work?
• Develop? What training priorities do you have for each person? Is it what will make them better at their job – and more motivated? Or is it just box-ticking to meet training targets? Have you asked what they feel they need? And really taken that into account?
• Model? What values do your own actions say re the virtue (or otherwise) of honesty, efficiency, diversity, quality, decency and proficiency? Does your team tell stories about the great things you do? Or sometimes laugh behind your back? Why?

The most important thing about the list above is that it’s all old stuff – and about people. Other people! Not you or your interests, priorities and hopes. But them and theirs. Bringing out the best in your team (or family). And, thus about leverage rather than doing things yourself. It’s central leading – as it always has been and always will be.

* http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/10/the-new-frontier.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fsethsmainblog+%28Seth%27s+Blog%29

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