There is one thing about leading a team.
Whether that team is three people or 30,000, it still applies.
You can be the boss of that team. And what is a head? Nothing less than a vital and connected component.
Or it could be something else, like a toenail clipping.
Superficially related to the body it came from, but not really on the same page.
Or even the same room.
A toenail can pretend to be part of a person, while it rots in a landfill on the other side of the planet.
That may be a crude metaphor, but it’s an appropriate one, given how dark that nail must be.
I keep it.
Which is not what great leaders do with their people. They are not ‘for’ them, they are with them.
If you are confused why the organization does not accept the change, this could be the reason.
Sometimes leaders come up with these grand plans. And they could be really cool. They may have researched deeply, consulted widely, climbed the highest mountain to ask the highest oracle…
They reveal it with a grand flourish, rightly proud of what they’ve created.
Employees then look at each other and wonder, where did that come from?
This is what I mean by staying together.
Your employees are strategic leaders as much as you are. Collectively, they know more about the organization than you do. Partly because there are more of them, partly because they live it differently.
You can’t design a plan without them.
Even if he does and even if it’s amazing, no one accepts the change by forcing it on him.
People follow change when they create it.
Or when people like them believe it.
When it’s passed down from the heavens as divine wisdom, it’s a bit harder to digest. Save that for Moses: you have an organization to lead.
Sometimes that means making tough (and unpopular) decisions.
But it always involves communication and consultation.
And the bigger the decision, the more of this you will have to do. It is a valuable source of evidence and ideas; more than that, it is a valuable source of support.
People follow leaders when they feel heard.
Even in China, as undemocratic as it gets, the leaders pretend to consult with the people, before undoubtedly doing what they always intended.
Now, maybe China is not the best role model.
Especially if you want creative employees who are happy to challenge your ideas.
But even that government, with its obsession with control, is willing to at least listen to the people.
Are you doing at least that too?