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Smarts Minus Direction Equals Absent-Minded Professor

 

Excerpted from Humor Minus Credibility Equals Doofus: 12 Back to Basics Leadership Principles Anyone Can Follow (Leading on the Edge International, 2005)

Leadership Lesson 10:  Smarts – Direction = Absent-Minded Professor

I once worked for a manager who was probably one of the smartest people I have ever met.  He had a Ph.D. from a very prestigious university and could think in dimensions I could only hope to be able to understand before I died.  I was in awe of his intellectual horsepower and pure knowledge.

What I wasn’t in awe of was his lack of desire to establish and communicate a cohesive direction for the team.  In his own mind he truly believed that both he and everyone else understood the direction he wanted to take the organization.  The truth was that we as a team had absolutely no clue where he wanted to take the organization; worse still, he would get very irritated when we tried to pin him down on direction.  So, while I was highly impressed in his intellectual horsepower, I had great difficulty with not having a clear understanding of the direction he wanted to go.

Learning the Lesson:
A key component of an inspirational leader is one who drives a clear and believable direction for the team to follow.  Whether it is a direction which affects thousands of people in a multinational corporation or one that affects only a handful of people in a volunteer organization, establishing a direction which motivates and inspires a team to deliver results is a crucial first step to being an inspirational leader. 

So what does setting direction really mean?  To me, setting direction means answering four basic questions:

1.     Where do you want to go?

2.     When do you want to get there?

3.     How will you get there?

4.     What things must you do to get there?

Think about these four questions in planning your next vacation.  You need to know where you want go (Disneyland), when you want to get there (July 4^th) how you’re going to get there (drive), and what to do to get there (get gas, stop for meals, check into hotels, break up fighting kids).  If all goes as planned, you’ve successfully arrived at Disneyland to see the fireworks well rested and fed and the kids are still talking to each other. 

Where do leaders have difficulty in direction setting?   Here are a few barriers:

• The leader has poor direction setting skills – So let’s face it; some leaders just don’t have good direction setting skills.   Maybe they weren’t in environments where direction setting was stressed, or they didn’t have a good mentor or coach to help build direction setting skills.  Or, maybe they are used to developing direction without the input and buy-in of the team.

• Direction setting isn’t viewed as “real work” – I’ve heard some leaders downplay the importance of direction setting because tactical work wasn’t getting done.  When a leader is under deadlines to deliver a result, things like direction setting tend to be pushed to the bottom of the to-do list.

• A direction gets set, but it changes too frequently – A leader may set a direction which has all of the right components, but if he changes direction to the point that the team experiences “direction du jour syndrome,” then the team is really no better off than not having a direction at all. 

• A direction is set, but not followed – A leader can do all the right things to set direction, but if it isn’t followed, then all the work was a massive waste of time.  Many times a leader will set direction because it is required by his organization or management, not because he believes it is important. 

• The leader delegates direction setting – Nope, no can do.  I’ve heard leaders say they want to empower their teams by allowing a lieutenant to drive direction setting.  I believe when a leader delegates direction setting, he is sending a message that direction setting isn’t important enough to do it himself. 

Adding it up:
Setting a clear, concise, and believable direction is an important skill for a leader and is crucial to getting a team moving in the right direction.  Use some of these tips to help you be a great direction setter:

• Be participative in developing your direction– Setting the direction for a team is something the entire team should understand, remember, and execute to.  Include your organization in the direction settings to ensure you get the buy-in you need.  Just remember that it is your responsibility as a leader to own setting direction. 

• Be cautious about jump-starting the process with your own direction viewpoint – Depending on the team, this either works well or not so well.  If your team is bold, engaged, and not afraid to question, then you can probably come in with something and let the team shoot holes at it.  If your team isn’t as bold or might be afraid to question you, then you’re better off starting with a blank slate and doing the discovery process together. 

• Review your direction regularly – Priorities do change within an organization; a key problem arises when the team’s direction doesn’t change with the new priorities.  I’ve certainly been guilty of setting a direction at the beginning of the fiscal year then never looking at it again.  Keep it available, review it monthly, and ensure it reflects the current.

• Measure progress against the direction you set – On a monthly or quarterly basis, provide a status of results achieved that support your team direction.  Presumably you developed the direction to drive your team toward specific results, so why not show the team and other stakeholders how you’re doing based on what you said you would do?

Graduating with honors:
Having great intelligence and knowledge as a leader is important to establishing credibility and showing a team that you have the intellectual horsepower to lead the team.  But a leader needs to couple that intelligence with the discipline to establish and drive the team’s direction to deliver results.  Take direction out of the equation and you end up with a really bright person with runaway intellect and a team without direction.

Project Management Article Abstract

A key component of an inspirational leader is one who drives a clear and believable direction for the team to follow.  Whether it is a direction which affects thousands of people in a multinational corporation or one that affects only a handful of people in a volunteer organization, establishing a direction which motivates and inspires a team to deliver results is a crucial first step to being an inspirational leader.   

 

 

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