6 Steps For Effective Technical Leadership
Chapter 19 of "Level 3 Leadership" covers 6 steps for effective leadership. This article reviews the steps with some thoughts on each. Let's kick things off with a list that is deceptively simple; yet takes a lifetime to master.
Clarify Your Center: The first step to impact the world around us, is to understand the world within us.
You can look back at earlier articles that covered chapters 9-14 of "Level 3 Leadership", which focuses on understanding yourself. But the punchline is to know deep within your bones a few questions.
Clarify What Is Possible: Knowing yourself has no impact on the world unless self is put into action. Imagine what is possible, for yourself, and for others. You should know what things would look like if the impossible became possible. If massive changes occur, what micro changes are required for steps A, B, and C. What is your vision and what do you want to create? What are the assumptions that are in the way from the ideal future? What problems are worth the effort in solving?
The only way to clarify what is possible is to unplug and imagine. The only way to push towards the impossible is to set reminders so we don't get swamped by the day to day.
Clarify What Others Can Contribute: This is the step where we jump from practices that benefit everyone to leading others. We should all Clarify Our Center, and Clarify What Is Possible for ourselves. Some may stop there; and that's okay because leadership is stressful and a responsibility many don't want. But, if your vision; is something larger than you can accomplish on your own; you'll need others to contribute.
Have you ever wanted to help someone, or wanted to build toward someone's vision but didn't know how? Without clarity of contributions; an initiative will die. Put yourself in the shoes of the people around you. Do they know how to help if they wanted to? Why would they want to?
The effectiveness of accomplishing things that are bigger than ourselves relies on two factors.
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1) Assumptions about others - If your view of others is limited; than what they contribute will be limited as well. Avoid thinking only of "Job Descriptions" required to accomplish your vision. In today's fast moving tech landscape, one person cannot imagine what exactly needs to be done. Trying to micromanage, limits everyone's ability to perform.
2) Identify critical skills needed to reach a vision - A better view is to identify the abilities and talents required to achieve the vision. What is needed to solve the problems, re-frame assumptions, and overcome barriers to the vision.
Support Others: Most people, most of the time, are doing there best. People need support to help. This may be accomplished by clarifying what's needed, providing training, aligning organization structure, improving information systems, providing tooling, and old fashioned listening.
Part of organizing people is determining who/what team can own the questions listed below. The more of these that a person/team owns, the more autonomous and empowered they are.
Modern orgs are structured less around who has decision making authority; and more towards who has the right information & insights to make the right decision. Think through both in regards to the questions above. What information systems do you have or should have to support people to own the above questions. How can talents adjust rapidly in accomplishing goals in a shifting landscape?
Be Relentless: This is hard. If your vision is big; it will require large changes, and the world don't like change. You will let others down. You will miss milestones. You will have setbacks. Know this ahead of time and regularly revisit your "Center" and your "Dream." What is needed to help those around you be relentless too?
Measure And Celebrate Progress: Part of creating a vision is imagining the steps required to get there. Celebrate these. Make sure you are measuring the right things and are transparent with those measurements. Empowerment is often enabled by good information systems - otherwise empowered people make decisions with imperfect information.
Final Thoughts: These steps happen at both a macro and micro level. They are like loops within loops. To truly achieve the impossible - each person that signs up is doing these loops for themselves and there personal vision. Leadership is magnified not in accomplishing goals - but in creating more leaders, and helping them impact the world by the largest margin.
See www.level3leadership.com for more.