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I’m often asked to give a plan of attack when taking on a new
assignment. While there have been
thousands of books written on the subject, successful leadership requires an
organized and thoughtful approach from the start. This approach can be concisely summarized in
an interview, but it takes up to a year to fully implement and ensure you’re on
the right track. I call it the make SPACE
approach.
Strategy: All organizations require a strategy so they
know where they’re going in the first place.
This includes a Vision, where the organization sees itself in the
future. It also includes a Mission, how
the organization intends to get there or its purpose for existing. The key components of speed, quality and cost
also come into play when putting together a strategic plan. The organization must decide in which of
these areas will it strive to be “best in class” and in which areas is it sufficient
to be competitive. Trying to be
everything to everyone can get a company in trouble, but failing at one of the
above to at least be competitive is also dangerous.
Process: Organizations need a “road map” for employees
to function over time. They must know
what they’re supposed to be doing and how they’re supposed to be doing it. This includes systems and processes that it
takes to complete basic functions such as payroll, billing and accounts payable
for example. And all company processes
need to be documented and employees must be doing what is documented. Early stage companies are naturally in a
state of “flux”, but they also must invest time in this part… even if it
changes frequently.
Accountability: The organization must establish measurable
and attainable goals for all to see and understand. Those goals must clearly tie back to the
Vision and Mission. More specifically, I’m
referring to an individual report card at all levels. When things go well, celebrate it and when
things don’t meet expectations, corrective actions must be taken. A company without this focus may have the
best and brightest employees, but if they’re all going in different directions,
they’ll have a much smaller chance of reaching the goals.
Continual Improvement: All that we do can be improved or refined in
some way over time. Without a continual
improvement approach to what the organization does, things will stagnate, people
will get bored and results will erode. I
would say that one percent of your team has to have this as their only goals –
process, product or service improvement.
Some would use the techniques such as Lean or Six Sigma to accomplish
this and that’s fine. It doesn’t matter
what you call it. What matters is that a
culture of continually evolving to meet and beat the expectations of the
customer, internal or external, is required to continue to grow. The most successful organizations have this
as component of their DNA.
Environment: Last, but not least… if your organization has
people in it, this may be the most important part of the plan. Good employees do well. Willing employees do great. And you’ll never know what the employees are capable
of until they are willing. The environment
it takes to succeed long term is an environment where people are a key
component of the equation. How does this
happen? I know it seems like I’m
oversimplifying, but ask them. That’s it.
Ok, you have to take some action on some of the things they have on
their mind. You also have to be mindful
of the highly effective interpersonal habits – these can be found in countless
places. They key to being successful in
this area is that you have to be willing to invest in them through building
trust, effectively listening, building a collaborative culture and respectfully
resolving conflict.
It’s as straightforward as can be, but you’d be surprised at the number of
organizations you’ve worked in that leave out key components. For sure, all of these areas require
investment, but I’ve seen organizations fail that left out just one of
them. Is there enough SPACE
in your schedule be successful?
It’s in our nature to look for someone or something to blame when things go wrong. Yes, we’ve all been there and done that. Maybe it’s about self preservation. It could be because we watched our role models do the same thing as we grew up and we’re just following their example. Stepping into the workplace, we saw more of the same. Nevertheless, I believe a change in how we do things is in order. Call it a cultural change or call it a behavioral change. Either is ok. But for sure, it’s time to turn the page on the Blame Game.
A survey conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) found that treating people with respect on a daily basis was rated as one of the most helpful things a leader can do to address conflict or tension. At work, we’re often faced with uncertainty or tension around not only the realities of the workplace, but also our differences in how we deal with those realities. A key challenge for leaders is to establish and build upon respectful relationships in the workplace among multiple groups. Gone are the days when the most common way was to instill fear in the ranks to get respect.
I recall a turning point in my career in Mexico in late 1996 when I decided to search for ways to “connect” with my team. You see, I was the typical expatriate. I knew what I was doing. I represented the corporate headquarters in Montreal, Canada. It was “our” product that we were moving to a manufacturing facility in Mexico. I had all the answers. After all, I was brought in to teach them how to succeed in manufacturing our products faster, better and less costly. I had to have all the answers, right? Well, this turning point is when I learned an important lesson about 
About a year after I began a long term expatriate assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, one of the employees handed me a book by Eva Kras. She had spent twenty five years in Mexico and documented in an interesting way the fictional story of an expatriate working there. It was uncanny, as I was flipping through the pages, how I could relate to this guy. He was about getting results while on assignment and then going back home in two years. Those around him knew it, too. He rarely invested the time to get to know the people around him and considered it a waste of time. After all, US leaders often believe that if we take our eyes off the “ball”, results will suffer. I’m here to tell you that I was grateful to have read that book when I did. It represented a turning point for me not only as a leader in Mexico, but also as a person. 
After six years in Mexico, we had the opportunity to stay in a Latin American culture and continue toward our family goal of working and living on international assignment for ten years. I landed an assignment in Puerto Rico. Living there was like a dream. We were on an island in the Caribbean where the temperature rarely got below 70 degrees or above 90 degrees (about 20 and 30 Celsius respectively). Baseball and golf were year-round sports. The culture was familiar and the employees in the factory were phenomenal workers.
