Leadership and the New Next: It is Not Supposed to be Simple

What if we are making leadership too simple? What if that is hurting our ability to lead in the face of uncertainty?

I understand the temptation to lay it out there brief. Writers are battling for eyeballs and attention. Seventy-seven percent of internet users read blogs, but there are almost thirty-two million bloggers creating an eyepopping 7.5 million blogs per day. With that much content, it is no wonder that readers devote an average of 37 seconds reading a blog.

If you are still here, thank you. You have exceeded the average.

My colleague and friend Mike Staver says leaders are “messing with people’s lives.”

It is even more than the lives of the people they seek to influence. They are also messing with the future of families, companies, professional associations, government agencies, communities, countries, and the world.

Doesn’t that—at least occasionally—deserve more than 5 steps in 700 words? Especially now?

There are a lot of good things happening in the world, but that does not diminish the uncertainty of high inflation, low unemployment, increasing debt, dysfunctional politics, disrupted supply chains, worker shortages, and the little virus that keeps evolving.

A warning

My goal is to make your brain hurt. That’s because stretching your thinking is the initial step toward inspiring new action.

I especially want to challenge you if you have been in a leadership role for 10+ years. Past success proves that you were once right. The traditional way we have thought about and practiced leadership will not continue to serve us well.

Despite the platitudes on our walls and websites, most of our day-to-day leadership is mechanical and activity focused rather than organic and people centric. Our values promote connection. Our attention goes to hierarchies, goals, plans, and programs.

We still need those things. Dwight Eisenhower said , “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

We are still in a battle. It is just a different kind of war.

We can mandate compliance with our traditional approach to leading. We need people to volunteer their hearts, minds, and commitment for change and transformation to work. Hierarchies, goals, plans, and programs are not particularly effective in the face of uncertainty.

A different paradigm

Leadership occurs in dimensions—not in sequential steps or levels—and there are six of them … so far.

1. Personal leadership: This dimension is about leading by example. In prehistoric days, personal leadership meant being the strongest, fastest, and best hunter. Today it includes areas such as personal drive, integrity, competence, accountability, priority management, and personal performance.
2. Interpersonal and Relational leadership: This dimension is about connecting with others and developing strong relationships that grow into partnerships It includes authenticity, transparency, effective communication, listening, and emotional intelligence. It also includes fostering an environment and culture that values diversity and inclusion.
3. Operational and Execution leadership: This dimension ensures operational effectiveness and efficiency. It recognizes that executing today is essential to success in the future. It includes traditional managerial competencies such as setting clear expectations, ensuring organizational alignment to achieve goals, providing resources and guidance, and monitoring.
4. Developmental and growth leadership: This dimension nourishes the first three and prepares everyone for dimensions five and six. It is the entry level for positive change. Fourth dimension leaders equip others to take their place, challenge themselves to continually grow, and prepare the organization to continually improve. The developmental and growth dimension is crucial for survival in a dynamic world. Most important, mastering fourth dimension leadership allows you to influence relative perceptions of speed, efficiency, and effectiveness compared to those who merely accept the status quo.
5. Change leadership: This dimension helps the organization and individuals prepare for, adapt to, and pursue the changes necessary to succeed. A strategic vision for the future allows the leader to paint the picture for what will be different and how it will be measured. Successful fifth dimension leaders help others anticipate and adapt to change. They build buy-in and overcome resistance, encourage innovative ideas and continuous improvement, and successfully help others transition to the new state.
6. Transformational leadership: We confuse transformation in our organizations and communities with big change. Transformation is defined as “a complete or major change in someone's or something's appearance, form, etc.” It doesn’t happen often. Transformation is not completed easily or quickly. Swallowtail caterpillars, for example, transform into butterflies in 7 to 14 days. That is, relatively speaking, quick. They, on the other hand, have a lifespan of only 6 to 14 days once transformation is complete. The competencies for sixth dimension leadership encompass and extend beyond those required for the other five.

On the surface, these resemble the leadership levels or steps we see anywhere. Likewise, there is a convincing case that mastering the dimensions in sequential order is the best way to be an effective leader.

The difference between steps, levels, and dimensions is much more than an unusual way of saying the same thing. It means picturing leadership as a spider web rather than a flow chart.

A brief detour to discuss dimensions and physics

This will not take long or be too geeky.

Dimensions aren’t static with numbered sequences. They are dynamic, interconnected, and change by the second. It is the relative world of Einstein and superstring theory not the static and consistent world of Newtonian physics.

Einstein’s work laid the foundation for superstring theory that suggests a universe has ten dimensions. They aren’t parallel universes either. They are distinct aspects of what we perceive as reality.

We experience the first three dimensions every day: length, width, and depth.

We also experience the fourth dimension—time—but only moving forward. We cannot control it in the sense of moving in different directions at will. We can, however, influence how it is perceived relative to another object.

Dimensions five through ten all represent different outcomes based on starting points and choices made.

Back to the leadership paradigm

Our static, sequential approach to leadership says that step two always follows step one. It can work, but it is clumsy and laborious. We are solving organic problems with single-focused, mechanical solutions.

Here are three ways this shows up in our organizations:

1. We look for a simple solution to employee resignations. Depending on the guru you follow, we attack it by telling supervisors to build stronger relationships (second dimension), implementing new programs to make the environment more flexible and attractive (third dimension), or tasking HR to do a better job of recruiting (third dimension). All of these might be true, and all of them ignore the impact of the other dimensions of leadership on the problem and solution.
2. A team member calls in to report that they have tested positive for COVID-19, and the supervisor’s first response is to ignore the personal impact and focus on meeting a production deadline because that was emphasized in the morning meeting. While the production deadline is important, the team sees the response as further proof that the relationship the organization says it wants with associates is not the one it values.
3. An associate raises a question or concern about a change that has been announced. Their supervisor’s response is that the change is coming from the top. No questions are to be asked. This is the way things are going to be. Let’s assume that is true for this change, the prior attention given to personal and interpersonal/relational leadership affects how associates accept this message.

A dimensional approach says that leaders utilize any or all the six dimensions at any given time to achieve the desired result and enhance relationships. They can be simultaneously sequential, situational, proactive, and reactive.

The first three dimensions compare nicely to the physical 3D world we see and experience every day. Dimensions four through six are where leaders influence the future.

We don’t need leaders to blindly follow prescribed steps. We need them to know when and how to balance our desired outcome with what it takes to achieve our vision and live our values. Ignoring the connections between the six dimensions adds friction to the relationship, team performance, and results.

The Six Dimensions, Change, and Transformation

McKinsey’s five priorities for CEOs in 2022 require some level of change and transformation to succeed. Logic2020 highlighted seven change management trends to watch in the coming year. Bain & Company says that most CEOs believe the time is right for major organizational change.

Change no longer influences the environment. It is the environment.

Unfortunately, the generally accepted statistics for successful change are abysmal. The success rate for transformation, especially digital transformation, is worse.

Change and transformation rarely fail because of faulty management. We know how to scope and manage projects, create timelines, implement communication plans, and provide training.

Change and transformation fail most often because of faulty leadership. That is even more true when chaos, complexity, and uncertainty are present … in other words, every day.

We don’t get change and transformation right because we aren’t fully getting the other dimensions of leadership right. Our ability to quickly change and adapt increases when we do. Here is how it works:

• All leadership begins with personal leadership. Success in first dimension leadership builds trust and confidence. Trust is the lubricant that eases the development of relationships with others.
• Interpersonal and relational leadership moves us from transactional interactions based on the power of position to relationships that can grow into partnerships. Success in second dimension leadership translates to volunteered commitment rather than mandated compliance.
• Efforts to strengthen efficiency and effectiveness (third dimensional leadership) are occur with less resistance when volunteered commitment is present. This is where excellent cultures based on connection, shared purpose, and trust transform into cultures of excellence that are obsessed with success.
• Developmental and growth leadership (fourth dimension) is the bridge from the present to the future. The organization (or constituent entity) speeds up or slows down relative to others based on the amount and quality of development and growth leaders commit to the first three dimensions.
• Change and transformational (5th and 6th dimension leadership) are easier, quicker, and more effective when the dimensions 1 – 4 are successful. The presence of trust diminishes resistance. Strong partnerships promote teamwork rather than people protecting their own immediate interest. Effective and efficient operational performance provides a history of success that instills confidence. Consistent development and growth leadership (fourth dimension) prepares everyone to take on a new challenge because change is viewed as the next logical step toward continued success.

Hopefully, your brain hurts a little at this point. Future posts will explore the connection between dimensional leadership and talent retention, operational excellence, leadership selection and development, and culture change.

In the meantime, you can help expand our understanding about the Six Dimensions of leadership by participating in a brief survey at this link .

A dimensional approach to leadership allows leaders, regardless of position or entity, to anticipate and respond to the uncertainty and complexity of a world where there is no new normal … only a new next.

It is not simple, but it is important.

Randy Pennington is an award-winning author, speaker, and leading authority on helping organizations deliver positive results in a world of uncertainty and change. To learn more or to engage Randy for your organization, visit www.penningtongroup.com , email [email protected] , or call 972-980-9857 (U.S.).