A while back I was at a party and found myself in a conversation that turned into the area of leadership and the lack of follow-through on decisions and decision making. It actually started out as a discussion on social media and the availability of information, and my friend felt that part of the problem was that there’s simply too much information. Though I see his point, I’m not sure I agree, but that may of course be because of my interest in social media.

My friend described a scenario where the same issues that were debated four years ago was still being debated today, with the same arguments. In other words, not much of a discussion because of the new information or development and progress, just simply the same old situation.

This got me thinking about the lack of following through on decision making, but I found myself thinking also that the root of the situation has more to do with indecision that decision making. If you make a decision, at least you have the opportunity to measure the result, and if it’s not what you want, set a different course after your evaluation. With indecision, no one’s made responsible for a further course of action… and so nothing happens.

The Blame Game

The conversation I just mentioned came back to me a few days ago when I saw a couple of clips from the climate meeting in Copenhagen, especially with regards to decision making, or the lack of it depending on how you view the agreement they finally reached.

The first clip was of John Kerry talking about how China will be the biggest contributor to the climate problem in the years to come, and therefore should make major changes to their policies. The second clip was of Hugo Chavez telling all rich countries in general that if the climate crisis was a bank, it would be saved right away (I believe he also mentioned how he got this from one of the signs from the activists).

Now, both of them are probably correct, so I’m not going to pick sides here. China is going to be a major contributor to the problem, and I can’t believe anything else than that rich countries in the world could do (and should do) more to amend what is happening to the climate. However, is this really the right time to play the Blame Game? Put differently:

What’s going to happen if we are more focused on pointing fingers, than actually doing something about what’s happening?

Make A Decision, Take Action

There are lot of voices on both sides of the climate issue, but it seems to me that we’re at a point where something needs be done. In light of this it’s quite interesting, and I guess sad, that even world leaders from across the globe fall into the same patterns as the leaders at my friend’s workplace. What do you do when no one wants to take responsibility themselves. Are we looking at a “climate cold war”? I think it’s a strong image of just how little we trust each other.

Of course, these were just a few news clips, so the accuracy may not be that spot on, but I still think it’s telling that everyone was trying to push their wishes on everybody else, rather than do something about the situation themselves. This was one of those times in history where it was time to lead by example. Imagine what could have been if this had been the case.

Avoid The Crysis, Or The Need For Immediacy

In the game Crysis the US and North Korea find themselves fighting together against an alien enemy. They are thrown into a situation that requires other conflicts to take a backseat. A common threat puts a higher value on what we have, and what we stand to lose unless we take action NOW!

Typical in fantasy and science fiction literature, movies and games are the encounter of races with a lifespan far longer than that of human beings. This length of life beyond what humans are used to give these races a different perspective on what we do to each other and the way we live. I wonder of this is the case with the climate challenge. As fast as it is moving, it’s still too slow for the world to actually join forces and take action. We’re still waiting for everyone else to make a decision.

Why is it everyone else’s responsibility to take action?

Or, how about: how could we make that responsibility our own, take action, lead by example, and share our progress and innovative thinking with everyone else in order to create a better environment?

Share your thoughts.

And on that note, to all of you stumbling onto my blog, I wish you Merry X-mas

What about the knowledge, viewpoints, ideas and thoughts existing in the organization that top management are not aware of? I want to share a story with you on both lack of awareness from management, as well as how not to treat employees.

Accepting Criticism – How Not To Do It

Back in 2000-2001 I worked at a large bookstore in Norway, and during this period the store went through a change process focused on a new logo design for all the stores in the chain.

This may sound like small a change, but imagine the cost of changing every envelope, every letterhead, every bookmark to go with the book sales, every plastic bag, etc. It gets pricy.

One evening everyone working at the store was invited for an evaluation session. The new logo suggestion was presented, and guess what? …Not everyone liked it. In fact, quite a few raised their concerns, because the new logo didn’t really look that nice, and it wasn’t something they felt they could identify with.

Imagine the surprise when they (I say they, because I knew I wasn’t going to work there that long, and so it didn’t affect me as much) where told by the boss that “to be honest, the decision has already been made. We just wanted to show you the new logo”. Apparently top management just assumed that everyone would love the design they had spent all that money on, and where taken by surprise when it wasn’t case.

To top things off, a takeover from a different chain was already in the works, and would happen a couple of months down the line. In other words, lots of money was spent on a change that would have much impact beyond alienating top management and the employees from one another, and a few months later the whole process would be worthless as the logo would take the design of the new owner.

On the positive side, this was an episode that fueled my interest in organizational psychology.

Talk to the People That Matter – The Informal Leaders

Let’s look at a keyword here: Communication. Whether development and change is initiated all in-house, or with the assistance of external consultants, talk to employees all the way. They are the people that matter, the people who make up the organization, and the ones who make the wheels go around. Isn’t it only natural that their voices be heard? Or, well, maybe I’m just not getting it.

identify informal leaders

If top management had taken the time to discuss with the rest of the organization, the change could have been a success. Do you need to talk to absolutely everyone? No, and that’s the beauty of it all. Identify the informal leaders, the person (or persons) that the other employees talk to, the people that know what’s going on. The people who know what top management don’t. Informal leaders are centers of trust in an organization. They have the confidence of the people, and as a source of knowledge, understanding and insight, they are closer, often physically, and especially mentally. They are easier to talk to than the boss.

Making The Connection

Understanding of, and respect for, local norms have been shown to play an important role in achieving successful and healthy change processes. Since top management often has no clue as to what these local norms entail, clear communication with the sources that do is crucial. Enter informal leaders. They are the ones trusted with the real (and critical) points of view from employees. This makes them an asset to the organization and a source of learning, giving them leverage. They should be allowed to influence the change process, by working with the change agents (internal and/or external), or by being change agents themselves. If a greater success for mutual understanding and successful change is the likely result, it should be an obvious strategy.

To see the important relationship between management and the informal leaders, imagine the change process as a journey where you follow a map. Management knows where the organization needs to go, and what outcomes they need to focus on. However, they may only have a vague idea of where on the map they actually are. In a worst case scenario this renders the change useless. The use of a map is compromised when you don’t know where you are. See informal leaders as the source that can tell you where you are on the map. Together, top management and an organizations informal leaders possess both the knowledge of where they are, and where they need to be.

Question/Challenge: Who are the informal leaders in your organization (maybe it’s you)? How do you know? How do they connect with the rest of the people, and you with them?

One more thing – Consider what it means if you have no clue as to who your organizations informal leaders are…

Share your knowledge, thoughts and ideas.