A curious but fascinating behaviour has recently emerged in our family.
My six-year-old granddaughter is reluctant to get into the family car anymore, unless Mummy or Daddy firstly share ‘where we’re all going’.
Understandably her insistence on being made aware of both the reason and destination of every single car journey was initially rather irritating, particularly when everyone was already running late!
However, she politely and patiently stands at the rear car door, awaiting a short but clear briefing, before either of her feet consider entering the vehicle.
As expected, she displays varying levels of excitement and commitment, enjoying some destinations more than others. But I’ve observed that, following a few words of explanation, she will always and immediately get in.
Today it’s part of the family routine and ritual of going out (now adopted by her four-year-old brother too) and interestingly, certain benefits have started to emerge.
Firstly, I’ve listened to a few of the briefings as we all get in the car and Mum and Dad have certainly become much sharper and clearer, when defining their thoughts on the respective trip.
Secondly, conversations on the journey have also become more focussed to the task in hand and any previous line of questioning, which would invariably have included a very frustrated ‘how much longer’ are rarely heard. In fact, both brother and sister are more contented travellers.
Lesson one: knowingly being on the same journey together would appear to be a more comfortable place to be.
There are also times when Mum and Dad have forgotten something imperative for the journey and one of the kids will now remind them. “Hey Mum, if we’re going to Uncle Sam’s don’t forget you promised to take back the cheese grater”.
Lesson two: being made aware of the journey allows everyone involved to contribute.
Now, this is not a directive from createbalance to give all your children a better understanding of what the family is doing, though maybe that’s not such a bad thought.
But there are some interesting parallels to consider in terms of leading teams… do they always know the purpose or direction of the journey they’re on?
In business, a specific destination is not always easy to define, but when leaders can agree and communicate a clear and compelling direction, it helps to get everyone in the car, feeling ready to travel together and focused on the journey ahead.
It’s one of the first things we do with our clients, because setting a direction and getting everyone on board helps to create the balance people need to work out ‘how’ they’ll move forward together.
“We had the privilege of working with createbalance at the start of our tenure as new Artistic Directors and Joint CEO’s for Paines Plough. Both Martin and Mel were extremely helpful in working alongside us at the early stages of our journey and the time we spent with them was critical in supporting us in defining the starting vision for the organisation’’. Read more in our Pains Plough case study
Putting on the big boots
Over a year ago we shared this charming but quite compelling concept of leadership, borrowed from Winnie the Pooh, in the hundred-acre wood.
"As soon as he saw Christopher Robin putting on his big boots, Pooh knew an adventure was bound to happen.We’re going on an expedition, he said to Pooh – all of us, that’s what an expedition means… a long line of everybody’’
Leading a long line of everybody and going on an expedition, is our favourite definition of leadership. It describes the importance of setting a clear and compelling direction, requires everybody to be involved and describes a journey that is undertaken with a particular purpose.
An expedition also acknowledges the balance leaders need to create between providing direction, guidance, and reassurance whilst also acknowledging that the path ahead isn’t always totally clear AND being prepared to lead the full journey, visibly and as part of the expedition.
Our blog, Putting on the big boots signifies a leadership confidence and commitment to the journey ahead.
Direction vs. Directions
By providing a clear direction vs. giving directions, leaders enable those within the organisation to work out the ‘how’, empowering people to think and act for themselves, in service of the journey ahead.
It might only look like the difference of a little letter ‘s’ but it’s fairly fundamental to great leadership.
Providing direction creates greater opportunities for creative and collaborative thinking and ultimately the engagement and ownership needed to get stuff done. It also demonstrates trust, which can help to reinforce the confidence people have in a leader and give people confidence in using their skills, experience and ideas to keep things moving forward.
Here’s a few lessons we’ve learned from how the great leaders we’ve worked with provide direction vs. directions;
Keep it clear and compelling – be as specific as possible about what you are trying to achieve and why it’s important. Painting a rational and inspiring picture of the journey ahead is more likely to help people understand the desired outcomes and motivate them to be part of the envisioned success. This is different to assigning people a set of tasks.
Play to people’s strengths – ensure the teams have the necessary skills, experience and support to work out the ‘how’. Embarking on a journey that requires skills people don’t have or will be unable to develop on the way, no matter how inspiring the direction, is demotivating and less likely to succeed.
Monitor and Learn – great leaders visibly go on the journey with their teams. They continually reinforce the direction, acknowledge when milestones have been reached, celebrate success along the way and support the teams in making adjustments when things go off course or are hit by unexpected challenges or change. Continuous learning and improvement not only enables everyone to stay on track, it gives them confidence to try new ideas and take the necessary risks and tough decisions inevitably involved along the way.
