How Leaders Drive Exceptional Value

Value: relative worth, utility, or importance

The answer to the question of how leaders drive exceptional value is very simple. Only by adding more value to processes, systems and people will it be possible to drive and obtain more value. This is not an esoteric statement like those proclaimed by the popular “law of the attraction” or “the secret”. Rather, it is a simple principle of adding value applied to leadership and management.

Let’s begin with the principles of adding value as managers. Good leaders most of the times also have the responsibility of managing processes and systems. Sometimes these processes and systems are performing at their best level, and some other times they are not and even fail. In either case, the work of those managing the processes is not only to make sure that things work well. Rather, it is to observe the entire system and identify the key steps in which it is possible to add value.

Notice that I’m not talking about efficiencies here. Actually, efficiencies not always end up in more value, neither to the organization, nor to customers or people. Extreme focus on efficiency has become one big challenge that organizations face in this uncertain, volatile and supercompetitive world. And the reason is that getting rid of steps in a process or a system, or producing faster at a lower cost with fewer inputs don’t necessarily translate in creating or adding more value. It sounds paradoxical, but it is not. 

The dichotomy between adding value and finding efficiencies is particularly true for large organizations fixated on creating rules and regulations for everything they do. What if an organization finds the way to “improve” a process and make it shorter? Does that necessarily mean that it is adding value? One might say, “yes, it is making it easy for people to operate that process”. And while that is true, if the results of that “improvement” continue to be the same or the change is almost imperceptible, there is still a need to change the perspective and look at adding value instead of finding efficiencies.

Adding value in a process or system means identifying the kind of information and knowledge that exist both inside and outside the organization and defining ways to use them. This requires keen open-mindedness from managers in order to think beyond their own limited expertise.

The second way leaders drive exceptional value is by adding value to people in the organization. Actually, this is their most fundamental responsibility. Adding value to people is expressed in many ways, and I’d like to talk about two of them.

1. By challenging people: leaders add value to people by challenging them to continually step up in the quest for their potential. To do this, leaders need to understand the passion that drives people to remain highly motivated and inspired. Leaders don’t motivate or inspire people, they create the environment and the opportunities for people to thrive and enjoy what they are doing. Enjoyment doesn’t mean a work that is easy. On the contrary, leaders add value to people by stretching their level of responsibilities by incrementally pulling them out of the comfort zones. Do you want to see leaders driving the best performance from their teams? Identify people’s talents, potential and design with them the tasks that will invite them to learn more, regardless on whether stretching them results in some failures along the way.
2. By supporting people: challenging people is not enough. They need coaching, because stepping out of the comfort zone might potentially result in risks and failures. Leaders add value by accompanying and supporting their people in the process of reaching ever higher levels of personal and professional responsibility. Leaders add value not by providing feedback about negative things done in the past, or by telling people how to do things. Rather, they provide value by asking questions that allow people to discover more about themselves, their talents and abilities. In doing so, the value these leaders add to their people is one that helps them focus on what they do really well and become even better at doing it. This is a total shift from the approach of “working in your areas for improvement or weaknesses”, because it concentrates people’s attention in those things they do very well.

Transferring knowledge is another great way in which leaders can add value. While everybody else is focused on their particular tasks, leaders (as leaders or managers) have the responsibility to keep the big picture in mind. That allows them to see processes, systems and people from what they represent individually, as well as their impact in the whole. And in doing so they are able to bring knowledge and experiences from one person to another or one process to other.

If you are in a leadership position, you have the personal challenge to determine the kind of value that you are adding to your organization, its processes, systems and people. I have a friend who is a fantastic researcher and was suddenly “promoted” to a managerial position. He told me that he didn’t want to have that responsibility, because he loved his technical work. Whether you are in a similar situation, or you are micromanaging your teams’ work, it is necessary to step up for a moment and think whether what you do adds any special value beyond the specific results of a particular task. 

This requires deep self-examination, since as a leader you might find that you’ve been doing a great technical work, yet you haven’t really driven exceptional value for the organization or your people. Identify those processes and systems that are under your direct responsibility. What kind of value can you add to them? Forget about efficiencies for a moment, and think in terms of value. Then, reflect about your people’s passions and dreams. Do you know what their talents and abilities are? Do you know what inspires and motives them to do better work? Give them more of that! Identify key areas in which you can challenge your people, and support them. And, all along, transfer the knowledge from one place to another.

Follow me on Twitter: @erubio_p
Visit my blog: www.innovationdev.org

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About the Author: Enrique Rubio is an Electronic Engineer and a Fulbright scholar with an Executive Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University. Enrique is passionate about leadership, business and social entrepreneurship, curiosity, creativity and innovation. He is a blogger and podcaster, and also a competitive ultrarunner. Visit the blog: Innovation for Development and Podcast. Click here to follow Enrique on Twitter. 

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