sarahcornally.com

"Leaders need to cast a light not a shadow, building confidence, creativity and commitment."   Don Argus 2007, Chartered Secretaries Australia Awards.

There are times when leaders are confronted with watershed moments. They can take the comfortable and rationalised route, which not only relieves their discomfort and allows them to kid themselves, but which is in direct conflict with their bigger objectives.

There are times when leaders are confronted with watershed moments. They can take the comfortable and rationalised route, which not only relieves their discomfort and allows them to kid themselves, but which is in direct conflict with their bigger objectives. Or, they can take the path of real leadership which, even though it is uncomfortable and challenging in many ways, requires character and actions that demonstrate commitment to the vision they hold. In that moment they show people what they really mean and who they really are.
 
This is more easily said than done. Leaders need to be able to recognise these moments when they arise. They can’t be staged, as people see through them when they are. These moments are most powerful when they arise spontaneously and the leader responds in a way that sends a powerful message that is contained within the act itself. The message is even more potent if it grabs people’s attention in such a way that they tell others of their experience, and hence become message resonators for good or otherwise.
 
Leaders are watched often much more than they or their followers realise. People unconsciously make continuous judgments about what is happening around them, which enable them to make sense of the world and to decide how to respond to it. Leaders therefore need to be mindful of the influence they have and use it wisely.
 
Recently I was working with a client who, in many ways, I would call an ‘ideal client’. The client is a successful company with a good track record of business performance and organisation culture. They knew something was not good with people turnover issues and discontent rising. They got quite a harsh message from their annual culture survey, which showed major drops in most areas impacting culture. It got their attention and they were very serious about doing something constructive to address the issues, knowing they also needed to retain the business improvements they have achieved, but without the people costs.
 
This situation is quite common across organisations becoming either task focused or relationship focused.  In response they see-saw in their internal investment cycles, bouncing between one and the other.  The answer is to discover a way to integrate them and get the best of both without the liabilities of either.
 
During a leadership forum with more than 50 of people in management roles at this organisation, there was such a watershed moment. The organisation’s executive had been working together very intensely over a three-day period prior to joining the leadership forum. It is fair to say they were in need of a change in pace. However, they made a poor choice to relieve their tension. They chose to be playful with a serious exercise during the forum, not realising the negative impact it would have.
 
On the morning of the forum’s second day it became clear that, if ignored, this negative outcome would work against all of their leadership objectives. This was presented to them. They had a choice. Do we admit what happened, speak openly about it, and use it as a lesson about what changes we all need to make? Or do we do something that moderates what happened, mitigates the effect, and gets us off the hook?
 
It was a very difficult moment. As the actual situation became clear to them, and as people realised their personal role in allowing this to happen, they all felt badly about it. Initially they wanted to focus on finding a solution to the immediate problem. They were asked instead to focus on what outcome they wanted in terms of leadership of the organisation. What could they do to be consistent with that objective, with holding the bigger vision in mind? What had happened was not what they had intended; however it was the result of their own actions.
 
The executive members had the character to face the truth and take responsibility for it. Then they made a choice to show up to the forum group as people of character who face the hard issues and take responsibility for them, even though it is difficult. They spoke about what happened, how and what they learned from it, and how they wanted to do this differently going forward as leaders. They showed leadership. It opened up a deep and authentic conversation about things that everyone needed to speak about to move forward in a new way.
 
This had a profound ripple effect, both in the work that followed during the forum and then what followed at in the workplace.
 
With their actions, these leaders showed what their true character is and what they really meant about transforming their leadership. That is not to say they will get it right all the time. But they now know the positive effect that comes from staying focused on the vision you hold, even when it’s not easy, and from being open and honest and speaking about what will make the difference. They realised that by deepening the conversation, you deepen the commitment and engagement of others. There will be cautious optimism for some in the organisation, and others will wait and see if this display of leadership is followed up by ongoing acts of such character and commitment. Gradually others will follow as momentum builds in that direction. It is a very strong new beginning that has the kind of impact required for people to believe what has been said to them.
 
For this kind of change to be sustained it needs to be built into the consciousness of the people in the organisation. It requires intention, attention, and practice and recognition that when it is done, it works and gets desired results. Everyone needs to become consciously aware of the benefits and value of such efforts so that they are encouraged to persist with a process that is not always easy. It is a new habit to be adopted.

You may publish this article as long as the following notice appears attached to the article, and you advise Sarah Cornally - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it where it is published.

Copyright © 2011 Cornally Enterprises. Permission has been granted to publish this article in full, sourced at  <http://www.sarahcornally.com>