Connecting the dots – my most powerful leadership tool

We all have heard it countless times – you need to connect the dots. What does that mean and how can we apply this as a leader? In this week’s newsletter I am sharing my personal leadership principles around this saying and how to apply it in the context of a leader in the United Nations.

I want to dive deeper into the following principles: collaboration, reaching out and integration.

Collaboration

A successful leader can look beyond their day-to-day responsibilities. What many organizations still experience is silo thinking. We get elevated to a team leader and we are proud of building the capacity and success of our team. Nothing wrong with that but if we just focus on our own team and our own success, we create silo thinking. We ignore the needs and the potentials of other teams and we miss critical opportunities.

We need to collaborate.

Collaboration for me is a key priority. It requires a level of awareness and consciousness that allows to step outside of our team boundaries and reach out to other teams. When teams are working together the constructive collaboration effect will allow both teams to achieve greater success then with the own team alone. This is often ignored but can be so powerful.

I have experienced this first hand in Malawi. As head of the resource management unit (RMU) I am leading six teams, all with different objectives and goals. Yes, overall, we are all focused on moving towards zero hunger and supporting the most vulnerable people in the country, but sometimes this horizon stops at the team perspective. I am investing a lot of time in bringing the six teams together and work together closely towards our shared goal. And it does not stop there. It is important that business support teams are working closely, in the case of WFP, with programme teams and supply chain teams.

We successfully implemented joint missions between programme and RMU teams to maximize on this potential and talk in one voice to our cooperating partners and our government counterparts. Nothing is more rewarding to see then teams coming together and learning from each other, understand that we are all WFP together and that collaboration will benefit everyone.

It is common to work in teams but not yet common that teams are working cross functionally in an organic way to benefit the overall goals of the organization.

We, as managers, can play a key role in reaching out to other teams, creating collaboration opportunities in the organization to learn and support each other.

The same applies to the collaboration between country offices, regional bureau, and headquarters. These collaborations are driven by the organizations strategic plan and will benefit the strength and capacity building of the organization.

Emergency response

?The most important application of ‘connecting the dots’ are emergency responses. An example is the response to Cyclone Freddy in Malawi. At the onset of the emergency, the needs are tremendous. Houses of people are destroyed, areas are flooded, people are fearing for their lives as they are holding to trees or debris from houses washed away. As humanitarians we are going into overdrive mode, each organization is focusing on their objective to save lives and response to the disaster.

The emergency was led by the government and it was critical that the response is coordinated and prioritized to avoid duplication and confusion in the response. The national Emergency Operation Center, with its twelve clusters, provided daily briefings and agreements on the steps in the emergency response so that all stakeholders in the emergency are well informed. It is not only about how to help but also when and whom do I need to support at the right times. These emergency coordination processes are extraordinarily complex, but need to be very strategic to ensure that the response is achieving the results at the right time.

Reaching out

Silo thinking often results from the perspective of a manager, thinking that they need to resolve a challenge on their own. The most powerful takeaway from this newsletter is, that,

When you see a challenge, reach out to others to support you in finding a solution.

Often you will find that others face the same challenge. Countless time I have seen people exhaling because someone with a similar challenge is connecting to them to find a solution to this frequent problem. Do not be afraid to ask, reach out to other people or other teams and ask for their help. Organizing a brain storming call or simply a discussion on a topic can work wonders in opening to find a solution to a common challenge.

Closing the loop

Often teams are developing solution to challenges on their own. What becomes powerful when teams and offices are working together to identify best practices and share them across offices to benefit everybody. When this is done on an ongoing basis, innovation grows much faster and will benefit more teams in a faster time. Constant information sharing and brain storming can help teams to achieve results in a more efficient way.

Proactivity

The main ingredient for ‘connecting the dots’ is proactivity. I make it my daily practice to reach out to other teams, connect to other stakeholders and open the communication.

Often, we are focused on our immediate task within our scope of work. When we take a step backwards and look at the big picture, we will see opportunities to further improve on the quality of our work and connect to other teams to provide more value for all involved. I make it a daily practice to reach out to other people, seek their feedback, present them with opportunities and exchange best practices to explore further improvements.

Integration

Many organizations suffer from the challenge, that teams become autonomous and keep the information within the team or division. This represents the risk of duplication as teams develop different solutions for the same challenge with twice the resources needed to solve the challenge.

Integration is the key to align contrasting functions towards a common goal. This will ensure that information is share openly for the benefit of the entire organization. It is important that every team sees the vision on what an organization is trying to achieve, in the case of WFP it is to achieve zero hunger globally. Sometimes we need to check our ego at the door and reach out to other team, share information, collaborate with other teams to strengthen the organization. If leaders have internalized this, the organization can grow and work more efficient in achieving its strategic objectives.

For me, thinking about integration and collaboration is a daily process. We have successful integrated six different business support functions in WFP Malawi, known as Resource Management Unit (RMU) and we are working closely with programme and supply chain staff towards a common goal. Donors and key stakeholders to WFP want to see this integration as it maximizes the support to the most vulnerable people in the country.

Conclusion

Why is Connecting the Dots Important?

In our complex work environment at WFP, where multiple teams and projects intertwine, the ability to synthesize information from various sources and foresee the impact of actions across the system is invaluable. It helps us:

• Anticipate Challenges Before They Arise: By understanding how different elements interact, we can predict potential problems and mitigate them early.
• Innovate Solutions: Connecting different ideas and approaches can lead to innovative solutions that might not be apparent when considering elements in isolation.
• Enhance Communication: When we see the connections, we can explain them to our teams, helping everyone understand the strategy and their role in it more clearly.

Practical Steps to Enhance Your Dot-Connecting Skills

1. Cultivate Curiosity: Encourage yourself and your team to ask questions about how and why things are done, not just what needs to be done.
2. Cross-Functional Engagement: Regular interaction with different teams can provide insights into how distinct parts of the organization affect each other.
3. Reflect on Successes and Failures: Take time to analyse why certain things worked or did not work. There are always lessons to be learned, which can inform future strategies.
4. Stay Informed: Keep up with industry trends, internal reports, and feedback from all levels within the organization. This information is crucial for connecting the dots.

Looking Ahead

As we continue to navigate the complexities of our work, I encourage each of you to practice and refine this skill. Whether you are leading a team, managing a project, or developing policy, remember that your ability to connect the dots can define the success of your endeavours.

Please share this newsletter , so that we can connect the dots together!