When We Cross That River

Imagine two individuals standing on the same side of the same river but with some distance in between them. And one is standing at a point where the river is calm and gentle whereas the other is standing at a point where the river is wild and fast. Now what will happen when the two will call each other only to consult one another how to cross this river? Do you think they will agree on the way to get across? Probably not. Yet I see this happening every day in organisations. Individuals and groups in direct opposition when discussing solutions whilst they are facing a different problem. They share the same goal: reaching the other side. But they are looking at different parts of the river, requiring them to think differently. Now some would argue that it's simply a matter of reaching agreement on what the problem is. But sometimes we think we agree but we don't. Or we can't agree. Why is that?

First there are a couple of constraints that need to be understood by both. Recognizing these five may increase your options to reach that shared goal:

1. The premature solution
We try so hard to focus on solutions that often we forget to analyze the problem sufficiently, causing us to limit our data gathering, use familiar ways that we know how to solve, and finally, narrow too soon. This can also be 'the single-solution dogma'. We have found a solution to the problem as we see it. Can we accept that there might be several solutions instead of one?

2. The forgotten principle
Problems often reoccur. While this doesn't call for repeating a solution, it's not uncommon that organisations have thought of a principle to guide them each time a problem of similar nature occurs. But principles tend to be forgotten or understood differently over time, whilst they can help us agree that multiple solutions could fit.

3. The policy straitjacket
Organisations often seek efficiency and control by standardisation. If similar problems are addressed in the same way, policies are in place, then people know how to act and we can predict the outcome. But while standardizing manufacturing processes makes perfectly sense, it doesn't make any sense in problem-solving. It limits the use of common sense and may deny us better solutions for different contexts in which the same problem can occur.

4. The improbable testimony
You are looking at the problem but you fail to see it as the other does. Of course! You are looking at it from a different angle. Denying someone's perception of the problem is more harmful than the problem itself. It causes distrust and closes doors for further dialogue and collaboration.

5. The Babylon effect
Christian or not, we all know the story. In ancient Babylon, the Babylonians were building a tower to reach to heaven to sit next to God and rule the world. In the biblical story, God placed confusion of speech upon the builders so they could no longer communicate and complete their work. Are we really speaking the same language?


In fact, there are many more constraints to mention that can cause us to disagree on a solution, or worse, make us settle for a less optimal consensus. But the ones mentioned here are some within your direct span of control. Recognize these and you are half way there!

Is There Value in Ballyhoo and Hysteria?

Anyone in the HR business can relate to this, having been assigned to a project that, as it turns out, everyone has an opinion about, from the janitor to the board rooms. In one of my previous posts (When Good Turns Bad) I have discussed handling good intended but bad advice based on uninformed reasoning. But what if others start voicing their opinions, in full disregard of a careful alignment process, in a manner that can only be described as ballyhoo and hysteria?

Big HR projects have that tendency of evoking very heated, emotional discussions. They often touch the core identity of an organisation, reaffirming or challenging existing principles and values which are deeply rooted in the organisational culture. Some principles may have been forgotten, but once contested they can arise as a phoenix to inspire and guide as before.

These kind of projects prove a challenge for leaders to channel opinions towards a meaningful result. No doubt, every single comment has value. Question is, how much value should you give it? Or isn't that the key question?

I have learnt that opinions come in different shapes and depths. It is quite tempting to judge them on their value and dismiss them if they do not seem to bring you any. More than once have I been frustrated by people who have shared their opinion not hindered by any lack of knowledge, and wrapped with a fair share of value judgments. My default reaction has been until recently to educate the uninformed, militantly separating fact from fiction. Little did I understand that I was missing the point entirely.

Very few people are truly evil but many people partake in mindless behaviour. Uninformed or unsubstantiated opinions are easily read as inconsiderate, impolite or even narcissistic. As true as this often may be, it stands to reason that the underlying motives are those of disengagement. People feel they lose control. And when things change in an organisation, everyone has their own pace of understanding and acceptance. Such a development comes with emotions, silent or expressed. Those leading the change need to recognize and embrace it.

I have just read an article (The Missing Link of Change: Suspension) by a contemporary thought-leader, Lolly Daskal, discussing the stages of grief as a model for understanding emotional responses to organisational change. What I seem to have been missing all these years is to actually comprehend how people process change, to understand the process of emotional development. Addressing that process with tongue instead of ears, trying to knock out the critics with arguments instead of truly listening will strangle any re-engagement at birth. So the key question is: How to create space for people to re-engage?


How do you deal with ballyhoo and hysteria?

May The Leadership Be With You!

If you think the title of this post sounds familiar, you're right. It makes reference to one of the most famous quotes from the sci-fi motion picture Star Wars. "But what does that have to do with leadership?” you might wonder. You will find out in a minute.

It is not uncommon in larger organisations to have leadership turnover, leaders come and go. Some have had more impact during their term than others. And while some have pushed the organisation to a new level, others have been an obstacle for growth. Quite more interesting though is that during all these leadership - and perhaps course - changes, you will find that employees, followers, often remain a constant factor, true to the cause. Hard working, dedicated people who were at some point led by one and the next day by another leader, yet continuing to deliver what is needed, despite of. In my previous post (The Key Component in Leadership Communication) I have already raised the question whether people commit to the visionary or the vision. That post has got me thinking that one might find true leadership in more places within an organisation. Places where one would least expect it.

Don't get me wrong, I will not start to down talk the importance of a traditional leadership position nor the value people bring to it. Assuming a leadership role says a lot about a person. It is about taking responsibility to make things better. However, as important as it is to have true leaders in positions that can empower others to succeed in their tasks, it is equally important to have people who can allow those leadership positions to succeed their vision. This suggests an omnipresent leadership, which actually reminds me of The Force in Star Wars. The Force was thought to be present in most living beings, surrounding and penetrating them, thus making all living things connected by it. I would like to believe that leadership works in a similar way. Sure, not everyone can be a Jedi. But The Force can only grow stronger in them when being more attuned with other living beings around them.

Leadership is everywhere around us. I have seen leadership in many different types of position throughout the organisation I work for, from front-office to back-office jobs. People who may not have answered any leadership calling, but show such a passion and drive in what they do that they unintentionally and sometimes even without knowing, positively affect others around them. People who may have deliberately chosen to stay 'hands-on' and not sign up for a leadership position, but nevertheless are followed by others in how they master their job. These people are the organisation's beacons by which it sails its course, regardless of who is captain on the ship. I once read an article with interviews of Assistants to CEO's in major companies. The fact that they often are the gate to the CEO's office makes them almost more leader than the CEO. They influence what the CEO needs to know and decide on.

Smart leaders already know that they should surround themselves with people who are smarter. The best ones have come to understand that leadership is in fact universal and all around them. It is only a matter of creating sensitivity to it in order to use its strength. Just like with The Force. May it be with you!

The Key Component in Leadership Communication

Let's face it, I am no brilliant spokesman. Would you put me in front of a crowd, unprepared, with ten minutes to express my inner thoughts, you will likely find me stuttering and stumbling over words. I do not use clever phrases or catchy buzzwords. I do not have a radio voice, gentle and pleasant. I lack charisma, let alone radiate any level of seniority with my presence.

Being raised in an environment of debate, my rhetoric excels in defensive, absolute statements but seldom succeeds to express understanding and compassion. I often catch myself using words that enlarge differences rather than bring people together. But what if I had a dream to share, one that people would want to share and follow? A vision of a better world, so compelling, that it requires hundreds, thousands or maybe even millions of people to achieve? Will they be inspired by it or distracted by the clumsy way how I would tell them the story?

I have always believed a leader needs to be able to communicate, and communicate well. But when I say 'communicate', I actually mean to connect and resonate ideas. Has the message been well-received? Was the other party understood? To this day, I have been indecisive about whether a leader has to be good with words as well. I know that it is about making things understandable and relevant, but does that involve persuasive speech? Are people following a vision or the visionary? Or always both?

History has given us a fair share of charismatic leaders. Political, ideological, religious, artistic or business leaders with the power to persuade. Some of them had brilliant ideas beyond their own desires, others were clearly more narcissistic and self-serving though equally praised. But history has also proven that many would follow the dreams and directions of visionaries who would not say much and did not enjoy public presence to the point of being shy. And then there is the phenomenon of critical mass, people following an idea because so many others have already went before them, basically trusting other people's judgement. So what is the key component of leadership communication?

I will probably disappoint a lot of readers now when I say I do not have a straightforward answer for you. What I do know is that what has touched me in many of these communications: PASSION. A leader could wrap up words in gold for that matter, but if the words fail to show any true passion it would certainly fail to capture me, regardless how eloquently phrased. Over the years with my employer, I have had the privilege to give lectures about several HR topics in our internal management trainings. What I have noticed is that my own interest in the topic was a measure for the appreciation the participants would give to me. I could even see myself real-time losing connection with a group of students over subjects that lack my interest.

Knowing that passion is the key to connect with people, you may want to rethink your own passion for the ideas that you need to communicate as a leader to your community. It could very well be that you do not find great passion for every idea within. But as your wider vision probably thrives on an assembly of smaller ideas, find that other passionate person in your environment who can get people energized about that specific one. And give that person ownership over that part of the story.

Leadership communication is for me not about the wrapping, but the gift within. What say you?

Bullshit Management

Today I would like to share my book review of Bullshit Management: Return to the essence of organisations by Jos Verveen (The Hague, Academic Service, 2011). Why more than a year after publishing? Well, the simple answer is that I have just recently started this blog, but I really feel this book deserves your attention.

Bullshit Management busts the ubiquitous myth that investing in management pays off. It reads unfettered criticism, disputing any proof of a scientific blue print for success, even questioning well-established theories of Taylor and Mayo. Moreover: due to all these models, methods and terminologies, more and more organisation are losing sight of their essence. This book calls for abandonment of management and urges organisations to take matters into own hands again. While products and services prove distinctive quality of organisations, the best way to organize is unprecedented for as well. According to Verveen, you would anyhow not need a management book for that.

Paradoxically, whereas the writer critically questions the usefulness of models, theories, systems, structures and terminologies, his book went management book besteller in The Netherlands. To my knowledge there is no English edition yet, so my Anglo-Saxon followers unfortunately have to settle for this post, for now.

The Essence of an Organisation
I recently came across the following Tweets:
"Business is about creating value. Making money is just a pleasant sideproduct."
"Most of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get their work done."

These are just two posts of many that I have seen and read, instigating critical review of management as a concept. Verveen builds his case around experiences he has gathered during his former career as business consultant. In his book, he claims that business management is characterised by continuous efficiency reviews whilst overlooking the essence of an organisation, which does not equal 'managing'.

"The essence of an organisation stands far from the goal of business management which is profit maximisation by increasing the productivity. The essence has therefore also nothing to do with finding an optimal strategy to obtain high productivity. Neither does the essence equal the effort of designing the organisation in the most efficient way to implement that strategy. An organisation has not originated, grown and survived due to management, but only by holding on to its core essence. Each step away from this essence opens the door for building an organisational 'house of cards' which needs management, a lot of management, to keep it straight. A house increasingly filled with people questioning themselves what it exactly is they are doing there."

A Vicious Circle
Recent U.S. gun control debates somewhat got me drawing a parallel between gun lobbyists and management disciples. They both claim to have the solution for a problem what according to others is the root problem in itself. And both advocate for even more of it when the soup hits the fan. Of course the impact of guns cannot be compared with that of management, though in the wrong hands, both can have dramatic social consequences.

If not already by the title of this post, then surely at this point in the text I must have upset some business school graduates. For some, management is a religion. But let me just ask those readers the following then:

According to you, what motivates people to work?
Certainly not management, right?

And according to you, what makes people engage to dreams bigger than their own?
I suspect few would answer 'management' here as well.

Lastly, according to you, what keeps people focused on creating value?
Precisely.

Yet with any sign that motivation, purpose or focus is lacking, we immediately seek to gain control by management. The irony is that management distracts people further from what should give them motivation, purpose or focus, perpetually clouding the essence of the organisation. A vicious circle indeed.

Return to The Essence
The solution this book offers to break the circle is quite obviously to seek that essence again. To stop organising work around peripherals and to start organising it around that what truly matters, what we feel will create value. His case continues even deeper by arguing that management and its goals, productivity and profitability, have poisoned our economies, and some businesses may find that there is actually no value in what they produce.

Verveen envisions a society that revolves around an economy with equal distribution of scarce resources in which true enterpreneurs and professionals bring genuine value while following their actual talents (see also The War for Talent Hoax). A Dutch politician has recently disputed that the current crisis could be solved with economical growth, arguing that economical growth is in fact the cause of this crisis. Maybe the crisis will lead us to a world closer to Verveen's vision...

My lessons learnt from this book: There is no blue print for success, but hard work, common sense and the ambition to bring genuine value will likely give you a head start on your competition.

For those (Dutch readers) who have read it, feel free to leave your review in the comments below. For the others, you can find Jos Verveen (@josverveen) on Twitter and ask him personally to publish an English translation.

The Extra Mile

Anyone who has ever worked for a boss is likely familiar with it. You have either read it before you applied for that job, seen it when you signed your contract or dealt with it during your employment.

Have you guessed it already?

I am of course referring to the job description, job profile, job requirements or whatever definition your employer gave to that piece of text explaining your role in the organisation. A narrative summary of the main job characteristics, formalizing the exchange relationship on the part of what you are supposed to deliver in return for rewards.

A job description is one of the main instruments in HRM. It supports hiring managers in the recruitment, payroll managers in designing equitable pay systems, development managers in defining possible career paths, supervisors in managing the performance and process engineers in improving efficiency. Adding the job's reporting lines will establish an organisational hierarchy as well.

You would imagine such a key tool to be maintained in detail. However, the reality is quite often far from this. It is not uncommon that organisations have to do a review of their job descriptions after 4, 5 years of neglect. Or worse, once started as concise descriptions of the main responsibilities, job descriptions have become interminable lists of tasks and activities. And yet organisations tend to militantly hold on to these paper truths. As if their absence would result in destruction and chaos.

At the same time, job descriptions become extremely important for employees during role evaluation or restructuring. When change can potentially result in adverse consequences for pay, employers have find themselves more than once in a dispute with the employee over it.

So why do people give so much value to job descriptions?

I have come to learn that job descriptions are needed in the absence of purpose, mastery and autonomy (see also Drive by Daniel Pink). People who understand what needs to be done, are capable and empowered to do it, would not need them. High-performers in your organisation who take responsibility over and beyond what they should contribute on paper, probably do not know even know what their job description says. Their drive is by no means influenced by anything remotely close to paper-based responsibilities.

But when purpose, mastery and autonomy are absent in an organisation, you will very likely not find leadership either. People follow people, not paper. But in the absence of a strong leader, they will hold on to that one certainty they have on paper which justifies their presence in the organisation and substitutes for a lack of purpose.

You will recognize organisations with paper-based responsibilities when the majority of employees are not going the extra mile for their employer; there are always individual exceptions. Minor inconveniences grow to be perceived as aggravating factors, often resulting in excessive claims for extra reward - to the extent of 'billing behaviour'. Worst-case scenario, clinging to paper-based responsibilities can create an organisational culture of island-thinking and dumping problems.

Should we then abolish job descriptions?

Job descriptions will go extinct one day. Forcing its extinction as a strategy would not be my advice. Focusing on leadership, on the contrary, is for many reasons advisable. Simultaneously you could work on a culture in which people learn to focus on what the organisation wants to achieve. The purpose and mastery which is fostered this way will shape an organisation with change capacity, forward-focused, instead of hanging on to the past by static documents with activities that were needed 4, 5 years ago. It will create a culture in which people will more likely go the extra mile, as their job is not defined by words but by a shared purpose they believe in.

Do you think job descriptions are still relevant? Do they make you go the extra mile?

Wreck-It Steve

"Sometimes in order to create, you need to destroy."

Whether this aphorism holds any truth is difficult to say. There is no empirical evidence for causality in this order; wrecking before building. Change is an inevitable part of life, but can it involve taking steps back in order to find a different direction or does it always involve moving ahead from where you are?

While playing around with these thoughts, I came across several leadership posts favouring the act of destruction, some of which written by people I highly admire. In one of them, the author claims that too many leaders are concerned with fixing things, when what they should be doing is breaking things (see Leadership Is About Breaking Things by Mike Myatt, one of the top leadership bloggers in the U.S. and regular guest author for Forbes online magazine). Now just to be clear on this, I am in no position to question any of the authors’ insights as I cannot match their wisdom. As a matter of fact, Mike is one of few bloggers whose new posts he shares via Twitter I tend to retweet even before having read them (I eventually read them all!). But still, even if it is needed to break down a wall to build a better one, you would probably end up using the same bricks. Or will you smash them up to dust to produce new bricks as well?

Before I start breaking things around me, I need to make sure that I got it right. Or at least overcome my fear of not knowing whether what will be broken is eventually replaced by something better. And maybe that is what differentiates one who leads from one who leads well. A fearless leader has solid faith and does not worry about the trials of this present time, but looks beyond to the coming time.

I clearly have a lot to learn still before becoming Wreck-It Steve. How about you?

Three Tips for Connecting With Your Staff

In one of my previous blogs (The Four Questions) I question the extent to which managers should be interfering with how staff do their job. One of my followers commented that the message of “staying out of their way” seems somewhat in paradox with “knowing what hampers them in doing their job”. I would like to come back to this in today’s blog.

Empowering staff has EVERYTHING to do with connecting with them. The main difference lies in how you engage. Here are three pointers that I have learnt in my professional career from people who have coached me or who I have coached:

Ask or Tell?
When performance is not as expected, do you tell your employees how they need to change things or do you involve them in formulating the answer by asking the right question? The best and most lasting solutions and resolutions are still those created by the people directly involved.

Focus of Attention
How much time do you spend on those succeeding their tasks as opposed to those who do not? Asking the right questions is as relevant for success as for failures, but for different reasons. Whereas failures are the cornerstone for personal development, individual or team successes can, when celebrated in choir, motivate and inspire those that did not succeed the first time.

Coach = Coachee
Connecting is a ‘two-way activity’. If you are not open to learn from the other person, you are not really engaging. By showing empathy or understanding you may think you are, but you are not. It requires a deeper conversation about how we can make things better together. The day leaders stop improving themselves, is the day of their businesses' doom.

Needless to say that consistency is the key in applying these.


Please be invited to complete this list of pointers as I am clearly still learning.

Why Leaders Lead

Everyone who has ever taken a more than average interest in the concept of leadership has come across the following question: "Can anyone become a leader?"

Having read numerous articles on leadership abilities, I have learnt that the subject-matter experts are less divided on this topic as those involved in the controversy around existential theories. Here one applies the evolution theory. Even more so, leaders are make-able. The majority of guru's tends to describe leadership in terms of developable personal attributes. Though some might find these 'skills of character' stronger developed at a young age than others, anyone could potentially step into the role. But what makes some people then decide to do so?

I am going to take you back a couple of years ago to an evening in Paris with a fellow HR professional. I vividly remember us sitting in a lovely small bistro, enjoying good food and wine, while discussing all kinds of HR topics. At some point we had somewhat of a debate about whether leadership is situational and brings attributes that can be switched on and off. One theory was supporting this. Examples were being given of people who are followers in a professional environment but leaders in private settings (e.g. captain of their sports team, community spokesperson etc.), or vice versa. The other theory invalidated this, saying these roles have nothing to do with leadership but with a pecking order. Authentic leadership comes with such a strong attitude that it will radiate in any situation a leader finds itself in, regardless of the individual's rank position in a group.

There was no winner to this discussion as we were not in it for the win in the first place. My field colleague and I like to meet up at least once a year to share our lessons learnt and to provoke each other's thoughts. Mine got provoked on that point where leadership becomes a calling, and what makes a person answer that 'call'. That's when I ran into the following article written in January 2005 by Michael H. Shenkman, President of Keystone International Inc., a strategic development group:

http://www.archofleadership.com/archinthenews/leaders-calling.htm

Although Shenkman wrote this article to point out the process of recognizing a leader, at the same time he revealed the true reason for answering the call: "envisioning something so large that it requires the collaboration of many people to accomplish it." This puts in question many of the choices that organisations have made in putting or accepting people in leadership positions. It also puts in question business studies that are focused on educating young people for efficiency and effectiveness of the 'collaboration' without them necessarily having the character skills (yet) to envision something larger than themselves. Imagine that many organisations will place these business school graduates in leadership positions straight after finishing study. Without further questioning whether this is the right order for a person to learn how to lead, I believe that purpose goes before everything. If not, one might accept a leadership role for the wrong reasons.

Do you know why you or your leader(s) chose to lead? If not for helping others to envision their role in the 'greater good', then why?

The Black Holes In a Leader's Universe

Let me just get straight to the point:

The universe does not exist of leaders and followers only!

There, I said it.

In every group, formal or informal, you will find people who do not have the best intention with your interests, with the group's or their own for that matter. In fact, some of them might even be self-destructive. Though the most common among them is the selfish kind. Some might act as follower for a while but always in their own interest. Or they may convince others to follow their path of selfishness, but that does not deserve to be called leadership. They are a minority, but a dangerous one. Sowing bad seed whenever and wherever possible, workplaces included.

People who are determined to put their own interest before anything or anyone, will not easily associate. Dissociation seems to be their standard modus operandi. Any effort to engage with them is therefore likely to fail, unless it serves their interest. Are they worth writing a blog about? No. However, it may be worthwhile to investigate how to recognize these black holes in your universe before they suck all the attention away from what really matters. Especially for those of you who have the courage to dedicate your lives to leading others.

Authentic leaders, more than any, will show their vulnerability to those they lead. Getting hurt is a part of the deal. It is, however, a whole different ballgame altogether if the hurt becomes intentional.

Here are some signs that may help you identify them within your group:

• malicious gossip; if they talk about others with you, they will talk about you with others
• no support, only opposition; bringing (your) leadership in question is their automatic response to a glitch, whereas you will not hear them if the course remains otherwise steady
• 'them against us' mentality; they have a natural tendency to put the blame for everything with the other party, preferably with those in a position they hold responsible for their own position
• inconsistencies; it involves people without scruples, not short of telling a lie or two
• lack of commitment; they are the 'friends' who are absent in times of need

It is not my intention with this blog to instigate a witch hunt in your community or organisation. If at all I would suggest an approach, it would be engagement. You may find these signs with people who are in fact willing to lead or follow, but have been disappointed along the way. Engage. And when it fails, try again. But as I said, you will run into individuals for whom this will never work.

Now you know.


Have you ever identified a black hole in your universe? How did you deal with it?

The Thing With Common Sense

Whatever definition you use for common sense, it usually refers to particular knowledge attributes which most people already have, or which the person using the term believes that they do or should have. A regularly used statement for common sense is: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

But what if everyone around you shares a belief which you don't? Does it make your opinion less true? Shouldn't you be acting on your thoughts then? Before science hit us with its truth, people thought the earth was flat. The possibility of falling of the edge of the world was common sense at the time. Thinking differently would have exposed you to mockery at the least, but more likely to facing the inquisition for blasphemy. Even to this day, your life can be in danger in some places where your beliefs, be it religious, ideological or simply political, are a minority.

How can you tell that common sense makes sense?

I don't think you can! Common sense is not always based on facts. Actually, it navigates quite often between science, pseudoscience or just popular belief. Between realism and idealism.

Why do we use it so rigorously?

Sharing beliefs gives us a sense of significance, comfort and security. The more we share, the more it takes refuge in our social DNA, as fundamental patterns of our behaviour.

Is that a bad thing?

Jein (this is a portmanteau of the German equivalent for 'yes' and 'no'). Many of our daily choices are made on our built-in automatic pilot, also known as our conscience or ethical compass. At times when you turn indecisive, a quick check with the majority opinion or what your peers are doing, can ease your passage through life. But that is also a pitfall. The use or at least the overuse of common sense seems to have two side effects you might consider as negative:

A low appetite for risk, causing us to rely on other people’s knowledge – or what we think they know - instead of evoking exploratory behaviour.

It involves past thoughts. Thoughts take time to manifest into the physical world. What is creating our reality today is in large a result of the thoughts we have been thinking or sharing with others a while ago.

Is there a way to practice common sense in forward decision-making for an unknown reality?

Of course. As I said, common sense navigates between realism and idealism, meaning that there are still individuals or collective thinkers who will continue moving beyond the frontiers of common reality or immediate possibilities, mostly for the better of society. They do not see common sense as a constant but rather as a variable in a complex formula. In fact, without this continuous challenge of what we think to know, we would not have evolved as a human race.

Where can I find these forward thinkers?

These individuals can be found in various parts of our community. They can be scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, CEO’s or politicians. Even as a parent you may find yourself in a role where you will have to prepare your child not only for today’s reality but the future one as well.

What unites these people?

LEADERSHIP. Common sense can become a dangerous instrument if not in the hands of people who are fearless enough to challenge the status quo. Or when applied in a scientific manner without counterbalancing opposing views. A fearless leader will ask questions like these: 

• How common is our common sense?
• Why has it become common?
• When did something else stop being common?
• Is there a minority belief? And if so, what is it?
• Do these opposing opinions need to be brought together?
• Etc.

The Ultimate Question Being:

How do I ensure that our common sense can answer tomorrow’s questions?

What does your common sense tell you?

The Four Questions

Khartoum, 2005. While sitting in the small office of a local team member in charge of flight bookings, the following conversation took place:

"Muna, did you know that this chair (opposite to her desk) is broken?"

"Yes, I know."

"So why don't you get a new one or get this one fixed?"

"No, it's ok. (pause) This way people don't hang around in my office too long."

During my expat assignment as HR manager in North Sudan, I enjoyed many of these short talks with my HR administration team of local hires. At the beginning I felt a bit awkward stepping in as their boss. Apart from them being more senior in the team than I was, they clearly out-knowledged me on how the local system works. Since I was only going to be there for a couple of months, I decided to limit my boss activities to these 4 questions:

1. What is it exactly that you do?

2. Do you like doing it?

3. Do you ever run into problems?

4. Is there anything I can do to solve them?

Question 3 & 4 were repeated, almost on a daily basis. As the years passed by, I may have tweaked these four questions when leading other teams in different settings, but in essence I find them still relevant today. Without stating the obvious by promoting the value of servant-leadership, there is another lesson learnt I want to share.

Seven years ago, in this particular context, asking these four questions seemed the only legitimate thing to do. The team members knew what was needed and why, and were competent enough to deliver. Were they all star players? No. Actually it was quite an ordinary, average-performing team. In fact, herein lies the lesson that I have learnt. What needs to be managed if your business has a clear purpose and your staff full command over their work? Apart from flagrant underperformers, people management theories seem to be missing a target population. Yet, there are probably a thousand theories out there with an equal number of consultancy firms who are willing to train your managers in applying them.

I have learnt a very simple rule on how to deal with underperformers:
If they are unwilling, let go of them. If they are unable, bring them in a situation that enables them.

The latter could be that you need to clarify your goals much better, develop someone’s competencies or find that person another job inside or outside your organisation that better fits their abilities. A matter of personal attention. And for your regular performers? Try to solve whatever keeps them from doing their job. That simple!

Do you think my four questions are sufficient to manage your team? Or am I oversimplifying matters?

Can We Please Start Innovating?

One morning on my way to work, a man sitting opposite to me in the train caught my attention. He was drawing stuff in his sketchbook which I recognized as an organisational chart. Normally I am able to control my nosiness in such a public setting, or at least know how to conceal it well, but that morning I caught myself fascinated by his illustration of, what I consider to be, an organisational defect.

For those who are not familiar with the concept, an organisational chart or organigram is a graphical representation of relations between people in an organisation, often to illustrate the hierarchy. Operating units or positions are commonly pictured as text boxes. The connecters between them show a hierarchical relationship or co-workership.

My fellow passenger was in fact drawing a straightforward, conventional organigram. Being in the HR business, this alone was enough to get me interested. But then he did something that almost made me intervene and to this day is puzzling me. He drew a square around two boxes as if he was grouping them, and then named that section 'Innovation'. It appeared that these two units or positions were made responsible for the organisation’s innovative power, maybe as of that very moment. Perhaps later that day he was going to tell someone, somewhere in some organisation, to start being innovative. That day, I would not want to have been either of them. Sender nor receiver.

Why wouldn’t you assign innovation as a task to a unit or position?

Let me start by saying that I do not have a magic formula on how you should innovate or 'organize' innovation. I could tell you that many billion-dollar ideas have originated in suburb garages, but it does not suggest you should occupy your garage. And if I would tell you that research has shown that individuals are equally, if not more, productive in coming up with brilliant ideas by themselves than would they have been put together in a brainstorm group, I am not saying you should dismantle your innovation teams. Chances are in fact that many of you will try to proof me wrong, saying a recipe does exist. Showing me examples of innovation teams that have transformed companies into the market leaders they are today. And consultancy firms would mind-boggle me with statistics of success rates in Fortune 500 companies that have used their innovation roadmaps.

I can however, tell you that I have learnt that people have a natural tendency to do things better and faster by continuously challenging the status quo. If you have read my previous post, The War for Talent Hoax, you could consider that essentially everyone has such a gift. I have seen ideas sprout out of nowhere or grow after having been planted as seed. And sometimes they came from one single creative mind, where at other times they came from a collaborative thought. Some have hit immediate success whereas others needed to be reshaped to turn around failure. In some settings, innovation can only excel with unlimited resources whereas innovators in India have shown resourcefulness amid serious constraints with a concept they call Jugaad (pronounced “joo-gaardh”). It is therefore my strong belief that innovation is a universal, organic experience rather than an oiled machine.

Is there anything leadership can do to propel innovation?

Yes, leaders should get out of its way! Their efforts of organising innovation are equally helpful as harmful, quite often preventing people from being creative as management comes with restrictive rules. Then again, getting out of its way does mean that leaders should create an environment without any barriers, while working with local economic realities and constraints.


3 Most Common Leadership Pitfalls in Innovation:

1. Assigning separate units or positions with the task of innovation
With this, leaders are implicitly telling their other workers that they do not have to be innovative in their work.

2. Creating multi-layer or multi-discipline groups to brainstorm
Again, innovation is being addressed in isolation from the majority population. And although diversity assumes to increase the variety of insights, members tend to be more reserved when it involves a group of unequals, afraid that some of their ideas might be found ridiculous.

3. Starting innovation projects
Projects automatically assume a set of rules, which may act restrictive when applied to the process of innovation. For instance, innovation does not have clear, tangible deliverables. The goals are rarely clear from the beginning and may need to morph significantly along the process. Deadlines would probably even cause what you might call an 'inventor's block'.


As said, I am not claiming that if you have organised innovation in one of these ways, there is no chance for success. I am merely advocating for a different way of leading innovation. One that is more inclusive. Leading innovation should not be about managing those who are tasked with it, but about taking away barriers for everyone to be innovative. This alternate approach aims to inject innovation in the genes of the organisation, creating an innovative culture.

Next time, I will tell you more about the lessons I have learnt on how to take away these barriers. Or you can let me know yours by commenting on this post right now!