Are we setting up Leaders to fail in this complex world?
Whether you have Leaders joining your organisation for the first time, getting promoted, or they’ve been leading your organisation for a while, they are all facing challenges and greater complexity.
Why do I say that?
The world is continually changing. The way we live, especially post-pandemic, has shifted. We are facing challenging economic times. We are all, including our Leaders, existing in this continually complex, potentially terrifying, and evolving world.
Here’s a really interesting paper by Keith Grint – Wicked Problems and Clumsy Solutions: the Role of Leadership. This looks at the complexity of problems, how they are framed, and the approaches that can be taken to resolve them. We know that the world is changing and has become more complex, but we can also see the problems or challenges that our leaders are facing (which is the same for us in the People Team) are more complex than they once were.
The question we need to keep asking ourselves is, “Are we adding, reducing, or removing complexity for our leaders?”
The nature and number of external factors that impact our organisations may seem uncontrollable, but what can we control or simplify for the better?
Are you controlling the controllables?
Here are a couple of things to think about:
Are the Leaders in your organisation clear about what you need from them? What great leadership looks and feels like for your organisation.
Are you a policy heavy/rule-based organisation? What impact does this have on your culture or your leader’s ability to make decisions independently?
Where you do need policies, are these frameworks for supporting decision-making or like wading through treacle?
Is there a culture of autonomy for decision making? Do you want your leaders to make the right decisions for the circumstances or are you expecting them to stick to rules?
Where Leaders are expected to make decisions, do they have psychological safety, i.e., can they confidently make decisions without fear of retribution?
These will give you an indication of how well you are setting up your leaders to succeed.
Where there is clarity of expectations, freedom to operate within enabling parameters and a culture that supports decision-making, you are more likely to have Leaders that step up and into their leadership role.
This is what you need from them and surely is what they would prefer for their work too.
Where is your organisation?
On a scale of 1 to 10 – where are you really?
1 = Leaders don’t own their role; we don’t have high expectations for them, and they expect the People Team to make their people-related decisions for them (and action them).
5 = Leaders understand their role and will act, though they will rely on the People Team, either to build confidence or to ‘hold their hand.’
10 = Our Leaders are totally independent because we have the right culture, they have great capability and effectiveness, and they have the support and frameworks to lead successfully.
What are you going to do about it?
Facing up to reality is critical.
If you are at the top end of the scale (7-10), then your organisation is in a great place for enabling Leaders and Leadership to be successful. Recognise the work and attitude that has gone into that and understand your priorities for maintaining and building on that strength.
If you are below 7, then it’s about:
a) Calling out the reality.
b) Identifying the priorities for getting to 7.
c) Planning how you are going to achieve those priorities.
Taking the necessary steps to set your Leaders up for success will be essential to the short-, medium- and long-term success of your organisation. It will put the job of leadership in the hands of those who own it, the leaders, and it means that the time, energy and focus of the People Team can truly be on the strategic priorities.