Life is so simple at the bottom, with the boss giving you a specific job and you doing it. But as you move up the hierarchy, the work becomes less defined, observes Roger Fulton in ‘Common Sense Leadership’ ( >www.macmillanindia.com ). “The boss gives you a mandate to solve a problem, and gives you little else. It is up to you to define the parameters of the task, figure out how to finance it, and find the time to get it done.”
Leaders thrive on this kind of work, the author says. He explains that ambiguity is a type of freedom for them to be creative and innovative. “It challenges them and allows them to turn their own thoughts into actions. The initial lack of direction would bother many employees, but not a true leader.”
A chapter titled ‘mistakes’ instructs that mistakes and their ensuing problems are inevitable in an imperfect world; also, that it is a matter of when, not if, mistakes will occur. When mistakes occur, leaders become experts in damage control, getting things back on track as soon as possible and minimising the effect of the error, Fulton describes.
He advises leaders to be ever willing to underwrite the honest errors of their subordinates. “True leaders tolerate, and sometimes even encourage, honest mistakes. Why? Because innovation and imagination should have no set boundaries. Some of the greatest discoveries of all time were ‘mistakes.’”
On ‘running effective meetings,’ the book offers a few simple tips: Start on time, have a definite agenda, and end as quickly as possible. Get everyone back to ‘what they do best: working,’ urges the author. He laments that too many otherwise productive hours are spent in long, boring, marginally productive meetings.
Look at the alternatives, Fulton tells leaders. “Don’t conduct a meeting if a memo will do. Don’t send a memo if a phone call will do. If there is information to disseminate, maybe you should convey it face to face. Out where the action is! Among your people.”
Channel switching
When there are conflicting demands from different people, becoming frustrated and seriously stressed are signs of incompetence, the author cautions. Competent leaders sort things out, set priorities, and get done what they can.
The best leaders, in Fulton’s view, become cooler when the heat is turned up. “Stress merely arouses their competitive spirit, allowing them to think more clearly and quickly, and to act with decisiveness.”
They can handle a variety of projects at one time, thinking multifaceted, by organising their thoughts into a series of channels. “They are able to select the correct channel, tune their mind to it, immediately evaluate the status of it, and then receive or give information about it. The next phone call or other input is about another project. Again they switch to the appropriate channel and effectively handle the situation.”
Therefore, those who can only think in singular terms will have great difficulty in being true leaders, concludes Fulton.
Ready takeaways.
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