There has to be a better way

The premise is that leaders, by definition, are unhappy with the status quo. They are motivated to overcome things in life that are inadequate, whether that’s products, services, processes, ways of doing things; or anything that holds us back from living a flourishing, excellent life.

Whilst I personally think that there are nuances to this as some of the best leaders I know are content in themselves even when working hard towards building their organisations, there is some truth in this observation.

Excellent leadership begins with a healthy frustration with something inadequate, lacking and not good enough. It is quickly followed by a desire to act to improve it.

Whether that’s how we buy books, hail a taxi, fill in forms, make payments, produce clothes, attend to healthcare, build homes, hire our workforce, produce energy - leaders emerge with the motivation to change things.

It’s not just opening up the need for a better way that matters, neither is it pointing the finger at someone else to fix the issue. 

It’s taking action; taking precious resources of time, energy, money and other physical assets and applying them with a consistent focus to create a new and better way. And - crucially - inspiring others to join in the mission, contributing their own resources, ideas and energy to making the world just that bit better. 

Whilst others may have a part to play, good leaders will always get involved in one way or another. One of the most often cited groups called on to fix it is the government. Whilst potentially true, good leadership exists in either finding ways to work with government or creating an alternative provision, sometimes even ideology, to that of the state, i.e. always with effort and action, not sideline whinging.

In other words, if you’re content with the status quo, the chances are you’re more in management mode - maintaining what is - rather than leadership. It seems that it can be quite easy to slip into management mode.

We encounter some leaders who revert to a management mindset in our work with various organisations across the Channel Islands. Here are some of their reasons:

• They have worked hard and achieved something new and successful so looking after what now ‘is’ can be less daunting than continuing to press into an uncertain future. 

• A desire to maintain control can hold us back from passing on the baton to new leaders who have fresh perspectives and energy. Whilst not always the case, putting effort into creating something can be tiring. Tired leaders are more inclined towards maintenance, especially if their time horizon is short.  

• Change hasn’t happened as quickly or easily as imagined; resignation to the status quo can be seductive.  

Some helpful and priming questions we can ask ourselves are these: 

• “What is the problem that we are trying to solve? What ‘better way’ are we working towards?” If this isn’t clear, then the conditions are set for a lot of grinding, demotivating hard work. 

• “Who else do we need in our team to help us press forward in our mission?” What worked in the past won’t necessarily work again, yet we can become wedded to a past strategy simply because we are familiar with it. New people with new perspectives and skill sets will be needed from time to time to help address tomorrow’s issues. 

• “How much certainty are we attempting to build into our strategy?”  If an honest assessment identifies little uncertainty, that might indicate a lack of courage or vision or both. Words like ‘guarantee’, ‘definite’ and ‘certain’ sit uncomfortably with genuine forward-thinking creativity.

Leaders, what will you do to bring constructive frustration to the centre of your thinking and action?