The High Stakes Leadership Trade Off

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The High Stakes Leadership Trade Off
by Kristin Woods

In order to lead an organization today, you must push your physical and mental endurance to the capping point. You must be willing to accept new ideas, new techniques and think in the abstract. This requires an open mind. And, somewhere along the way all good ideas must be formulated. We may need to think differently, admit to small failures and include others in the decision making process.

If we don’t, organizations will stagnate, good employees will leave and we will be left behind with unmet challenges. Business owners and executives are often a success because of a skill other than management. They are exceptional at being independent thinkers which is why they struggle with delegating responsibility to others. Some have made it purely by doing everything themselves. This is called contained success.

Today all industries are facing obstacles and opportunities far beyond what we imagined five or even ten years ago; downsizing , increased competition, a change in technology, new products and old skills. Expenses are up. Revenues are down. Management will try to overcome some of these obstacles. We begin to hear things like:

"It's time for change"
"We've got to turn things around"
"We've got to cut costs, people, and programs."
"We've got to start doing what the competition is doing..... whatever that is".

People are assigned responsibility to fix the problem without really understanding what the problem is, where it came from, how long it has been there, and who is ultimately accountable. One idea after another is tried, but there is rarely long term planning done to assure the idea will work, is affordable, and will make a difference.

Most of the ideas for change come from management, are thrown out into the bull pen and left to die. Strong leaders plan and then implement. They delegate, not dictate.

Many business owners and executives have come to the crossroads in their career where they must evoke change. The path to change can be broken down to four easy action points!!!!

Get off dead center
Brainstorm
Write your plan out
Include at least 3 people in the planning stage.
Open up to change. Experience.

ACCOUNTABILITY:

Take ownership to the plan
Be willing to give away
Agree to lay no blame
Be open to failure
Let somebody do something now

TACTICAL ACTION:

Talk openly of the plan
Set target dates to implement
Keep target dates
Be open to new methods of learning
Be willing to change the plan

HARD LANDING: Ask the following questions.

How much is the cost to me personally?
What are the rewards?
How long can I sustain my plan?
Can it be expanded?
When is it outdated?
What is there to lose?

The willingness to try ideas is paramount to growth. What will it take for you to find the endurance to change, to be flexible, to learn new techniques, to reach out to a higher plane of achievement? Let’s reflect on an image that will lead you to the edge of awareness.

------------------Picture this--------------------

You are coming down a long hall, ahead is a gleaming black marble floor , to your right is a beautiful bronze gilded elevator door. There is only one button... "UP".

Capacity - limited to one.

You hurriedly get on the elevator. The doors begin to close. A hand quickly darts in and stops the door from shutting. There is a large crowd now gathered outside the elevator door. They all want on the elevator to the floor of success. There isn’t room. How do you hold that one spot on the elevator? Why will you make it to the top when others will be left behind?

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