Observation
Diversity & Inclusion Are Important – But Don’t Lose Perspective!
In a month when ‘that Oprah interview’ has been worldwide news, I have had a number of coaching conversations which left me confused, frustrated and questioning whether I should even refer to them in these reflections. They have also caused me to think - a lot!
What I have observed is a combination of: strategy conversations not taking place because the agenda is dominated by D&I, a team being so keen to acknowledge their part in racism that they unintentionally ended up being labelled racist with a detrimental impact upon their ability to recruit and an individual central to the future success of a multi-billion pound enterprise (she runs the engine room of the business) actively thinking of retiring early because in her view she is being asked to deliver a diversity strategy which is neither credible nor possible. Most commonly, my clients have felt their personal integrity is being questioned and have found that extremely uncomfortable.
Of course there is a counter perspective – ‘you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs.’ It is entirely appropriate and necessary to change intransigent attitudes by challenging current norms and causing people to squirm.
However my concerns are twofold. Firstly that the quality of conversation becomes very passive if nobody can challenge the race or mental health card. As a result people become more polarised in their views and most importantly, practical solutions that work are much less likely to be achieved. Secondly, in my view many leaders are currently facing the biggest challenges of their working life. Diversity and inclusion are part of those challenges but if they squeeze out other critical issues from the leadership agenda, then inevitably the business itself will suffer and I suspect as a result, so will the diversity and inclusion agenda.
In my coaching conversations I usually have a sense of what I would do if I was in the other persons position. In these examples I found I did not have a clear view. It felt like ‘you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t’.
However as a leader I do think you need to lean in. For all the concerning conversations I have had, the good news is that I have also heard leaders describe themselves getting more comfortable with the issues, saying that they are proud to be moving things forward and beginning to understand what works and does not work. Most of all, the leaders I find myself admiring are maintaining a healthy sense of perspective.
Now, anyone want to talk about Meghan?
Current Leadership Challenge
Speed Trumps Everything!
This was my answer to a group of budding social entrepreneurs who asked what was the most important leadership insight I’d like to share. I still broadly believe it, though perhaps a more rounded answer would be:
‘Nine times of ten, delivering good enough solutions which are acted on with pace will create more value than slower outcomes seeking perfection’.
In my experience speed is one of the areas where I think leaders most often fall short. I’d encourage you think about your own attitude to speed and in particular:
Ownership – do I believe that injecting speed into the organisation is a core part of my leadership responsibility?
Role modelling – does my behaviour engender pace in others?
Challenge - am I intolerant of individuals and processes that are a drag on momentum?
Practical Action
Don’t Ignore Destiny, It’s Time To Be Bold!
‘You don’t choose the time. The time chooses you."
Teddy Kennedy to Barack Obama, 2006
At the time the scion of American politics shared this with the future leader of the free world, Barack Obama had less than two years’ experience of national, let alone international, politics. Previously he had been a relatively lowly state senator and as a result, 5 years before he and Michelle moved in to the White House, they were living with their two young children in a modest apartment in a far from prestigious suburb of Chicago.
Time will tell how history judges President Obama, personally I am an admirer, but I suspect few can doubt that he reached a previously untapped vein of voters that meant a whole new generation and tranches of the population felt engaged in a way they had not previously. It’s hard to believe that Hilary Clinton, whom I am also an admirer of, could have made such an impact despite her tremendous experience and capability.
As hopefully we approach the end of this Covid dominated period of history, I suspect many businesses would benefit from reflecting how destiny is prodding them! Am I being fanciful in asking this question? Well maybe, but I am sure most of us will have used the definition of madness which is ‘expecting a different result while repeating the same behaviour’.
My challenge to you is to see if destiny, or if your prefer, the different context, means that you should be looking to change previous directions of travel and take some risks which might not at first look that obvious. If it was me, I’d be looking hard at:
My Leaders
I have quite a utilitarian view of leadership. For me a lot of it is about clarity of role, having a joined up leadership agenda, communication / communication / communication and following through with discipline. Despite this I think exceptional leaders are very rare and not always easy to identify.
You can’t legislate for finding great leaders but you can actively look for them and when you think you have found them, I’d encourage you to take some bold risks and put them in key leadership positions where they can; make a difference, show their capability and grow as leaders.
Of course the CEO succession plan is probably the organisation’s ultimate date with destiny!
My Strategy & Business Model
I have a simple view of the current commercial world – if your business is not part of the new economy (optics and substance) you have a limited time horizon! If you are part of the new economy, then you really need to know where you add value, why that is defensible and how you will grow. It’s unlikely that the answers will be the same as they were 12 months ago.
My Culture
I suspect the culture has been one of the main organisational victims of Covid. New recruits have not only had watered down inductions but they have missed out on learning ‘how we do things around here’. Equally existing employees have been isolated from the mothership for many months and inevitably the bonds that tie them in to the organisation will have weakened.
This almost certainly means that all organisations need to reinvigorate their culture and that this presents a tremendous opportunity to update the culture so that it is fit for future purpose. Your symbolic gestures of the next few months and the way you develop your employee ecosystem, not least ways of working, will set the tone for years ahead.
My Momentum
Will we emerge from Covid; battle weary, physically drained and emotionally running on fumes? I am sure this will be a reality for many individuals and organisations and yet for others, Covid will have accelerated their commercial advantage, caused them to rethink what’s important and provided opportunities previously unthought of.
For leaders it will be a fine balance between acknowledging the pain of the last 12 months and at the same time building and creating a new level of energy which will help the organisation thrive in the future. Like many aspects of leadership, I think this can be addressed very practically to create the sense of pace and momentum necessary for future success.
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