Leading in a Fast Paced Business Environment

In today’s digital and fast paced business environment, the need to make important decisions has to occur quickly and sometimes under challenging circumstances.  But what does it take to put leadership into practice?  Let's consider the 5 key essentials noted above.

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   1. Vision and Strategic Planning

The word vision suggests something grand or mystical.  But for most organizations, vision is simply a clear strategic plan that is designed to achieve a successful outcome.  The leader may be asked to take an underperforming business enterprise and turn it around or initiate an altogether new strategy with the goal of making it more profitable.  This may involve rethinking the company’s product line and/or changing the manufacturing and distribution process. 

The leader may be the new University Athletic Director (AD) who has been hired to build a more competitive Division I. football or basketball program.  A University AD for a Division I sports program has one of the most demanding and visible roles in collegiate athletics.  Their primary goal is to oversee and lead all aspects of the athletic department to ensure competitive success, academic integrity, financial stability, and compliance with NCAA regulations — all the while, promoting the university’s mission and reputation.
 
The leader may be the head of a nonprofit organization whose goal is to advance a social cause rather than generating profit. Their decisions and strategies are guided by the organization’s mission — whether it’s fighting cancer, protecting children’s rights, or deescalating pressures in a war zone.  They must secure funding through donations, grants, partnerships, and events.

At the same time, they must manage limited resources effectively in order to sustain their programs and operations.  The situations and tasks may vary. What is most important, however, is that the transformative leader instills a sense of mission to the task at hand and obtains commitment to achieve new or untried goals.  In his book, Leading Change, author John Kotter, suggests that a leader’s strategic vision should convey a picture of what the future will look like as well as appealing to the long-term interests of the organizational members, customers and other stakeholders.  In sum, an effective leader must have vision; that is, the willingness to think conceptually, articulate a view of the future and oversee the strategy's implementation. 
 

​​​​​​   2. Effective Communication

Once the vision has had a chance to resonate, it must be communicated forcefully and effectively.  Such communication happens at all levels of the organization.  As author John Kotter, writes: ... the real power of a vision is unleashed only when most of those involved

in an enterprise or activity have a common understanding of its goals and direction.  

There is a strong sense of a shared future that can help motivate and coordinate the kind of actions that are needed for change.  In practical terms, effective communication means being able  to articulate the vision and organizational strategy in a meaningful way and to mobilize both professional staff and other stake holders to a common set of goals and focus points.

The leader must also be an educator.  According to John Gardner, Leaders teach... 

Teaching and leading are distinguishable occupations, but every great leader is clearly teaching

-- and every great teacher is leading.  Effective communication also requires the leader to possess good listening skills. Hearing is not the same thing as listening.  Good listening skills requires the ability to stay present when someone is speaking and giving the person your full undivided attention.  Avoid being the person who has a quick answer (or solution) for every question posed.  Very often, the person who knocks on your door is not necessarily looking

for answers, but simply wants to be heard. In sum, a successful leader understands the value

of good communication skills both as a presenter and listener.
 

   3. Alignment

The success of any major project or undertaking requires a high degree of  buy-in from those members of the organization who will be responsible for implementing the proposed strategy.  We call this alignment.  In its simplest form, alignment means teamwork; that is, a willingness to pull together for the good of the project or organization.  Alignment means getting the entire organization moving forward in the same direction.  The leader plays    an important role by articulating a clear vision, building strong teams and by creating a productive and supportive work environment.  To that end, developing alignment requires good communication and consensus building skills.  The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once wrote: "A leader is best when people barely know he exists…  When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." –                                                                                                                                    

Closely tied to the principle of alignment, is the issue of motivation.  A successful leader sets  the tone for the organization and plays an important role in inspiring others to do their best work.  While each work situation is different, an effective leader needs to create the kind of atmosphere where people feel appreciated, confident and a strong sense of accomplishment.​​

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   4. Trust and Integrity

If the leader cannot be trusted, the ability to lead is compromised.  Is there anything more important than trust?  An instructor has proof that a student has cheated on an exam; a manager discovers that an employee has falsified accounting records; a real estate developer hasn't fully disclosed some of the unique property issues to the buyer during the pending sale. In each instance there will be consequences.  The student may fail; the marriage may end in divorce; the company may become the target of a government investigation.  A violation of trust will have a profound and lasting effect. Nothing is more important to a company or organization than its reputation in the marketplace.

Effective leadership starts by creating a climate of trust.   The leader should lead by example and create a positive and safe work environment.  What are some of the issues that often undermine trust?  Consider the following: 1) consistency and 2) maintaining a confidence.  Consistency is the ability to convey the same message (good or bad) to those who would seek information from you.  A clear consistent style goes along way in generating trust.  Consistency also has to do with making sure that people really hear what you're saying.  To that end, say what you mean, mean what you say.  Second, learn to maintain a confidence once it is given.  

All it takes is for one person to believe that the confidence that he/she shared with you has been broken. After that, the team or group of subordinates will avoid telling you anything that

is important or personal. 

                                                                         
   5. A Willingness to Take Risks

Individuals manage risk every day of their lives.  We purchase car insurance to minimize the financial risk of having an accident.  We accept a new job, knowing that there is a certain amount of risk in making a change.  As a manager, we assume a level of risk whenever we
hire a new person.  The business leader's risk, however, is quite different.  The business leader assumes a high degree of professional risk when it comes to initiating a major change in business strategy. 

​​Experimentation lies at the heart of every company’s ability to innovate.  Most companies like

to talk a good game about being innovative.  They use such well-worn phrases like "think outside the box." But in practical terms, many such companies are not comfortable with change.  They are risk averse and want to void failure at all costs.  Companies, like people, can become easily satisfied with organizational routines that stand in the way of being innovative.  The effective leader knows how to promote and encourage the right kind of risk to achieve organizational goals and outcomes. Smart, innovative companies give such individuals the freedom and creative space to test out new ideas and working concepts.  A culture

of innovation means taking risks and with it -- the very real possibility of product failure.  

It’s part of the DNA of what it means to be to be innovative.