Maybe I haven’t read enough of the O Magazine to have a set of expectations but I was surprised to see a great leadership quote from the O Magazine….
“Leading well means forming a crystal clear image of what must happen and communicating that precisely.”—Martha Beck, O Magazine- January, 2005
Leaders at all levels need to keep this in mind. I frequently see leaders missing this point in two ways. First, they almost know it inside their head. This means it’s fuzzy but clear enough to help them move in the right direction. However, they haven’t been able to clearly form a statement that is easily understood by others. As a result, their actions and strategies are sometimes on the right track. Sometimes they are distracted and are totally off track. Being on or off track seems to be loosely correlated to how busy they are dealing with crises, both good and bad.
Secondly, they forget to communicate this message to everyone who needs to know it. When they do communicate it, they forget to reinforce or repeat it so that it stays “top of mind” to those who need to act in conjunction with the vision, goal or strategy.
I find most of the issues that we face in management can be avoided if we are intentional. I like this quote because it reinforces that concept and says to me: You can lead well if you are able to form a crystal clear image. This means taking the time to write it down. You may have to wordsmith it and rewrite it. The image may change with the situation and may need to be rewritten. In most cases, that’s OK – if you constantly communicate and re-communicate it when it changes. Does this sound like a lot of trouble? Maybe… However, is it more trouble than being distracted and not moving in the right direction? Or worse yet, having all your employees not moving in the right direction. This is akin to herding cats! Since I’ve always wondered what that might look like, I thought I’d share the following video: Herding Cats.
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