Recently we wrote that positive leaders make things happen and that we define these powerful men and women by their accomplishments. For many of us, however, this advice flies in the face of that which we have learned throughout our lifetimes.
“Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke!” “Let sleeping dogs lie!” “Don’t upset the applecart!” The list of admonitions against action is interminable. The best one I remember is that when we try something different “only two things can happen and three of them are bad!” Is it any wonder that so many people work so hard to preserve the status quo, even when they are dissatisfied with the outcomes they get? Is it any wonder that so many of us are enslaved by inertia?
Powerful positive leaders are quick on the draw but never shoot indiscriminately. These men and women understand that it is not good business to mess with success and they do not change things about which their customers are happy. What they also understand is that both customer dissatisfaction and employee discontent can often be subtle and can fester under the surface of things until; finally, the boil bursts, showering us with nasty consequences.
Positive leaders are constantly listening to all members of their supply chain, both internal and external. These men and women also have an intimate understanding of their organizations and its people, and of the products and services they provide. They understand the needs of their customers, suppliers, and employees and they especially understand that those needs are fluid. Often the signals that float past us on a daily basis do not foretell events of significance. Positive leaders relentlessly investigate the ebb and flow of the marketplace and prepare themselves for tsunamis, both large and small.
These powerful leaders listen empathically. How many times have you heard someone say, “When is somebody going to do something about . . . ?” Think about how many times in any given day, week, or month that you ask such questions of others.
Shooting from the hip in a reactionary mode truly will result in unexpected, adverse consequences but this is not a mistake positive leaders typically make. Powerful positive leaders are “pro-actionary” and understand, intuitively, that events always occur in context. The sensory apparatus of these men and women are tuned to the multiple frequencies of their organizations and they view their organization as an integral whole within which adverse events and outcomes sometimes occur. When these positive leaders take action, and they usually do, they understand that taking action is a process of evaluating outcomes relentlessly and making innumerable adjustments.
Some outcomes are disappointing and, indeed, positive leaders understand that they cannot anticipate every eventuality. They also understand that every outcome, whether positive or negative, creates an opportunity to learn. Positive leaders are eternal optimists who believe that they can always improve. One of the truths that positive leaders embrace is that three things can happen when one takes well-conceived action and all of them are good. Often the outcomes are positive and sometimes those outcomes exceed expectations. They also believe that mistakes in response to reasoned choices are not bad things; rather they are welcomed as opportunities to learn. The third outcome of well-conceived action is that the people of both one’s organization and its supply chain begin to learn that even the biggest mistakes pale in comparison to complacency with respect to ongoing customer satisfaction. Powerful positive leaders are fearless.
Positive leaders believe that the only time an idea, product, service, or relationship cannot be improved is the precise moment in time when it becomes obsolete. Powerful positive leaders replace the concept of continuous improvement with a commitment to relentless improvement.
Action is the essential tool of powerful positive leaders an action orientation is an inherent characteristic of vibrant, dynamic organizations that are committed to the satisfaction of customers, both internal and external. In such organizations dogs do not sleep, apples are not allowed to rot at the bottom of the cart, and things are not given an opportunity to break.
A much debated question.
Posted by: Mike Kingston | February 17, 2012 at 05:57 PM