Leadership, the art of bringing others together for
the achievement of a common goal, is not a popularity contest. As much as most
of us want to be well regarded, there will always come a time in which a
decision that we make goes against the grain. We will be questioned about the reasonableness
of that decision because on its face it does not strike others as making
sense.
You knew that this decision would face opposition
before you announced it. But you also
knew that you alone understood the grounds for coming to that conclusion. As long as you met the moral, legal and
ethical benchmarks, you were simply exercising the responsibilities that your
function required of you.
Here’s the thing.
People object for several reasons but the primary two are:
· They
don’t like the consequences of the decision on their lives, or
· It’s
just a bad decision. It is wrong on its’
merits.
During this pandemic, we have seen repeated objections
to the decisions being made by governments around the world. And the objections have invariably fallen
into one of these two categories. The pandemic has been worsened in most areas
of the world because leaders could not properly advance the merits of their
correct decisions; and because so many of the decisions were just bad.
What can we learn from this and apply to our own
businesses. I submit the following:
1. It
is not enough to be right; one must also be seen to be right if there is to be
broad acceptance of your decisions. This
boils down to communications. For
example, in countries like New Zealand and Australia, very strict regulations
were imposed on the populace. A vigorous
information campaign complemented the restrictions offering the people the hope
of a quicker return to ‘normality’ and reduced infections and death. The ‘buy
in’ was widely accepted and the results are that the two countries are now in a
mutual travel bubble and the expectations of ‘normality’ have been functionally
achieved even before wide spread vaccinations are in place.
The lesson for business
leaders is simply that the better you communicate the more likely you are to
succeed. The communication strategy must
accompany, not follow, a decision that others will find tough to accept. If your
messaging does not acknowledge…I mean really give a damn…about the
consequences, then you are doomed…as you should be.
2. The
best laid plans of mice and men often go awry! T’is true since plans were made.
Despite our best intentions we mess up.
During Covid there have been widespread errors, especially in the
Americas and Europe. Leaders have been
too slow and/or unwilling to face the realities of the disease because they are
conducting popularity contests, not governing.
Witness the tragedies that are Brazil, the USA and parts of Europe. The tragedies are twofold. Failure to follow science and failure to
acknowledge mistakes.
In
your business you have made decisions you regret. Welcome to reality. But mistakes won’t fix themselves and left
unattended, they only worsen.
Not
surprisingly, your best action is the same as above, that is, communicate. You start with a sincere and personal mea
culpa. Forgiveness is a common human response.
This stems from people’s desire for effective leadership. Unless you are a serial loser, they are
looking to you for the answers because history shows that you generally deliver. When you fail their inclination is to support
you in the hope and expectation that you will get it right the next time.
It
is seldom the case that someone will step forward to challenge your
leadership. The vast majority simply don’t
want the responsibility. So regroup, rethink, and then communicate your
agenda.
Just
don’t go to the well too often!
