Aligning LeadershipSakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Industries, is credited with developing the “5 Whys” technique of analysis. Toyoda observed that, through asking “why?” iteratively, we are able to get past the superficial symptoms of an issue and dig deep into the fundamental cause. While the 5 Whys is used extensively in process improvement disciplines such as Lean and Six Sigma, it is also a powerful technique for building understanding, achieving consensus, and aligning teams.
We’ve all heard (or said) this at some point in our careers… probably many times. A project, a program, or an entire business has gone off the rails. While this happens frequently due to a total lack of planning, that wasn’t the case here. Instead, you and your team put time and effort into formulating a plan to achieve your goal. But, somehow, things broke down during execution. But why? Perhaps your plans, however complete, were not fully aligned.
Today I was speaking with a colleague about their experience working with several startups. They agreed that start-ups have “natural alignment”. They also agreed that many startups have major challenges maintaining alignment, as they grow. But why?
Earlier this week, I was talking with SMART Growth author and “business growth catalyst” Jack Spain about alignment. He recounted some of his experiences working for a large public utility here in the Carolinas, where hurricanes and ice storms periodically wreak havoc on the electric infrastructure. “When we had a restoration even, alignment became very clear.” While business-as-usual could get wrapped up in many competing corporate goals and priorities, when a storm impacted a large number of customers, all hands were on deck with a common top priority: restore power as quickly and efficiently as possible. This reminded me of similar stories I had heard from executives and managers at smaller electric co-ops in the past: their organizations excel during restoration activities.
I just read a great post by NewCo founder John Battelle on trends that are remaking business. This is a good read for anyone in any business, and quickly summarizes some of the mega-trends that are changing how we work, who we work for, what we buy, who we buy from, and what it takes to build a successful business.
His point #4 really jumped out at me:
4. A job is table stakes. To win talent, companies must compete on purpose, authenticity, and organizational structure.
Millennials are now the largest force in the global economy, and they have a markedly different view of work: Purpose and “making a difference in the world” are central in their work-related decisions. They’d rather work at The Honest Company than Unilever, if given a choice – and the best and brightest always have a choice. Members of the next generation want to be at a company where work means more than a paycheck. They believe work can be a calling (Reich) or an expression of our creativity (Florida). BigCos aren’t currently organized to enable their workforces in this way (human resources, anyone?), but NewCos – even the very largest ones like Google – most definitely are.
In my last post, I talked about the importance of a shared context, as a prerequisite for building consensus around a team’s priorities to move forward. I also reviewed some approaches to leading the team through developing this shared context. This shared context needs to include an understanding of:
In the introduction to my “Planning to Plan” series, I proposed that leaders ask themselves a few tough questions about last year’s plan:
In my last post, I shared some thoughts on tapping into the personal passion your team members already have. Once the team understands how the organizational vision aligns with their own passions and vision of the future, what’s next? Priorities.
The bottom line is, when people are crystal clear about the most important priorities of the organization and team they work with and prioritized their work around those top priorities, not only are they many times more productive, they discover they have the time they need to have a whole life.
– Steven Covey