William Faulkner wrote this beautiful passage about facing a desperate crossroad, and making a decision in the face of uncertainty in his novel Intruder in the Dust. It aptly sums up the enormity of responsibility of leadership, and the critical need for it.
There is a pervasive illusion stalking executives and managers today. The illusion is that they should have concrete certainty about all the answers all the time. To the contrary, leadership is in fact necessitated by uncertainty and the element of intuitive guessing never fully vanishes from the leadership landscape.
We're definitely coping with uncertain times right now. Upheaval in financial markets, lack of confidence in government, global unrest, war and economic stress are causing companies around the globe to question their strategies and budgets. These are the very times when leadership is crucial - and sometimes proves to be the dividing line between success and disaster.
When everything is rosy, everyone is getting along, and there is no uncertainty people don't need leaders. As Jim Kouzes puts it, "Uncertainty creates the necessary condition for leadership." If you find yourself in the uncomfortable position of having your team look to you during a critical juncture - don't panic! Don't be tormented by the assumption that you have to know exactly what to do at any given moment.
Leadership in uncertain times requires a few simple practices:
Embrace change and uncertainty. The longer you lead and the more responsibility you accept, the more you will inevitably face change. It can be your friend, or it can be your enemy, but it will not go away. How you view it is entirely up to you. You can never hide uncertainty from your followers, so it's best to embrace upheaval and make peace with the unknown; which will allow them to trust your strength and confidence while understanding your humanity.
Have clarity of vision. All great leaders know where they are ultimately going. They may have to sail through uncharted waters to get there, but they aren't uncertain about the end goal. Having an unwavering vision of the final prize will give you the fortitude to overcome difficulties and confront unknowns along the way.
Use what you already know and call your shot. When a general at war is faced with a do-or-die battle situation, what does he do? Does he say 'I can't command my troops because I don't have complete information'? Of course not! He draws upon historical facts, his knowledge base, the expertise of other people and intuition and he gives the order. Be decisive.
Measure success by the score, not the play. In sports, we accept that coaches make guesses and shift their strategies to suit the game situation. Somehow we don't acknowledge the same ever present give-and-take in the business world. Educated guesses and gutsy moves won't always work out, but if you measure your progress by the larger game score and not the individual play, you'll find that you most likely win more often than you lose.
Leadership involves taking other people on a journey with you - often to places you yourself have never been. You'll face unanticipated problems and have to change your plans to deliver the big win - that's life. But you must remain clear even when you are not certain. You must make decisions and stick with them. You must guide your team confidently and own the results of every decision you make.
Strong leaders will survive a few bad decisions... what they won't survive is a lack of vision or faltering courage. If you were captain of that ship of destiny in 1492 and you reached the point of no return, what would you do? Go home, or sail irrevocably on towards the world's roaring rim.
There is a pervasive illusion stalking executives and managers today. The illusion is that they should have concrete certainty about all the answers all the time. To the contrary, leadership is in fact necessitated by uncertainty and the element of intuitive guessing never fully vanishes from the leadership landscape.
We're definitely coping with uncertain times right now. Upheaval in financial markets, lack of confidence in government, global unrest, war and economic stress are causing companies around the globe to question their strategies and budgets. These are the very times when leadership is crucial - and sometimes proves to be the dividing line between success and disaster.
When everything is rosy, everyone is getting along, and there is no uncertainty people don't need leaders. As Jim Kouzes puts it, "Uncertainty creates the necessary condition for leadership." If you find yourself in the uncomfortable position of having your team look to you during a critical juncture - don't panic! Don't be tormented by the assumption that you have to know exactly what to do at any given moment.
Leadership in uncertain times requires a few simple practices:
Embrace change and uncertainty. The longer you lead and the more responsibility you accept, the more you will inevitably face change. It can be your friend, or it can be your enemy, but it will not go away. How you view it is entirely up to you. You can never hide uncertainty from your followers, so it's best to embrace upheaval and make peace with the unknown; which will allow them to trust your strength and confidence while understanding your humanity.
Have clarity of vision. All great leaders know where they are ultimately going. They may have to sail through uncharted waters to get there, but they aren't uncertain about the end goal. Having an unwavering vision of the final prize will give you the fortitude to overcome difficulties and confront unknowns along the way.
Use what you already know and call your shot. When a general at war is faced with a do-or-die battle situation, what does he do? Does he say 'I can't command my troops because I don't have complete information'? Of course not! He draws upon historical facts, his knowledge base, the expertise of other people and intuition and he gives the order. Be decisive.
Measure success by the score, not the play. In sports, we accept that coaches make guesses and shift their strategies to suit the game situation. Somehow we don't acknowledge the same ever present give-and-take in the business world. Educated guesses and gutsy moves won't always work out, but if you measure your progress by the larger game score and not the individual play, you'll find that you most likely win more often than you lose.
Leadership involves taking other people on a journey with you - often to places you yourself have never been. You'll face unanticipated problems and have to change your plans to deliver the big win - that's life. But you must remain clear even when you are not certain. You must make decisions and stick with them. You must guide your team confidently and own the results of every decision you make.
Strong leaders will survive a few bad decisions... what they won't survive is a lack of vision or faltering courage. If you were captain of that ship of destiny in 1492 and you reached the point of no return, what would you do? Go home, or sail irrevocably on towards the world's roaring rim.
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