The notion of intent as the primary and powerful driver of integration, teams, seamless delivery, you name it, seems to resonate with many of you, many of our colleagues and even clients with whom I have shared this thought. However, in the grand scheme of the world, the notion of ex-nihilo – something from nothing – is hard to find. Intent, specifically positive intent, is a great notion, but it just doesn’t spring to life. Perhaps it should, but so it goes, doing the right thing doesn’t always happen naturally.
In fact it seems to me that process and procedure are often put in place and obsessed over for no better reason than we don’t always do things properly. Sure, we often get it right – but not always and not often enough.
Recently WPP fielded a survey amongst those from diverse agencies who had participated in some of the more complex global WPP pitches which tend to bring together. People, companies and offices from all over the globe and all over the WPP tribal map took part.
One of the initial key findings was that leadership was the critical factor in building the team. All else aside, if the leaders provided vision and direction, the rest worked. The leader was the center of intent, the embodiment of positive and actionable purpose.
For the next few weeks, I’d like to get your thoughts on leadership. What makes a leader? What doesn’t make a leader? How is intent linked to leadership and where does process and procedure come into play? Is it to help guarantee success? Or replicate it? Is that possible?
So here is a place to start:
“Those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things.”
Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Think on it – if your entire orientation to collaboration or integration is focused on ourselves and process and not the client what do you think will happen?
If our leaders look in and not out, if the steps become the answer and not the journey, if the little things become the reason and not the foundation, what do you think will happen?
Leaders need to drive intent. Positive intent. Passionate intent. If they don’t…
Check out these links to get you started…
www.time.com/time100/leaders/index.html
www.fastcompany.com/guides/greatleaders.html
www.fastcompany.com/magazine/76/jchampy.html
In my mind and experience, a good will drive intent through a mindset, a road to an attainanable set of ideals or goals. The path to these goals however should be more of a motorway.While some may travel in the fast lane, the majority will be in the middle, and there will of course the slow drivers and hard shoulder stoppers. A good leader will not take everyone on the fast lane, but realise that people are free thinkers and their own individual leaders. But of course the “hard shoulder” should always be kept free from blockages!
My best experience of this was working for Virgin in both UK and Asia, the mindset of the leadership was clear,dynamic and empowering, each employee had a clear vision of what Virgin was trying to achieve and how it would get there, a framework in which employees could think but still follow…
I think there are three main cornerstones to a successful leader:
1. Communication – motivating your followers and gaining their complete trust and respect by: leading by example, being charismatic, passionate and energetic about intent, confident, level-headed and ‘walking the talk’.
2. Strategy – Demonstrating that you are ’smart’ and can lead your followers to ’success’.
3. Negotiation – with employees, suppliers, competitors, stakeholders…etc – to keep your followers content and willing to follow and to combat threats internally and externally.
Try this URL: http://www.thesourceofleadership.com/