Peter J. Williams, Learning from Your Mistakes: Failures in
Leading and Things that Went Right
FOCLOnline
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35hJw_sXgEo
* * *
Why Visionary Leadership Fails
by Nufer Yasin Ates, Murat Tarakci, Jeanine P. Porck, Daan van
Knippenberg and Patrick Groenen
February 28, 2019 – Harvard Business Review
https://hbr.org/2019/02/why-visionary-leadership-fails
Summary.
Visionary leadership is widely seen as key to strategic
change. That’s because visionary leadership does not just set the strategic
direction — it tells a story about why the change is worth pursuing and
inspires people to embrace the change. But research finds that the
positive impact of visionary leadership breaks down when middle managers aren’t
aligned with top management’s strategic vision. This can cause strategic change
efforts to slow down or even fail. When middle managers were aligned with top
management’s strategic vision, things played out as the widespread view of
visionary leadership would suggest: the more these managers engaged in
visionary leadership (by communicating their vision for the future and
articulating where they wanted their team to be in five years,) the greater the
shared understanding of strategy in their team, and the more the team was
committed to strategy execution. For managers that were misaligned with the
company strategy, however, there was a dark side of visionary leadership became
evident. The more these misaligned managers displayed visionary leadership, the
less strategic alignment and commitment were observed among their teams.
* * *
Vision without
implementation is delusion – what are the steps / mechanisms for delivery?
A fantasy can distract us from getting on with doing
something good
Start small, build up, show reliable growth
Don’t think God needs you or your work!
Is there a realistic plan e.g. a team to deliver this?
You can’t do everything!
We need a direction but also a vehicle and brakes! – who will
be your filter?
Stage gating – what’s the process for getting this new
initiative or plan tried out? Are people exhausted from your last bright idea?
How many balls can you juggle at one time?
A great number two is a real blessing – e.g. strong feedback
but not necessarily needing / wanting to be number one
It’s easy to spend
other people’s money! How would you control costs if it were your money?
A certain amount of waste is of course inevitable and we
have to accept that. We can’t have perfect 100% efficiency but….
Fundraising is often about friend-raising and that takes time
People don’t always want to give for ongoing costs. They
want to give for new and shiny. But it is a problem to have lots of projects
with restricted funds and a lack of general funds.
Don’t forget time is money. If people spend time on
something, you are effectively spending time on it
Employment costs might be double salary costs. How much does
a staff meeting cost? What about an away day?!
Don’t let relationships slip e.g. through busyness
Be strategic / deliberate / plan e.g. follow up
It’s really easy to undervalue or overvalue your time – sabbath!
Rushing and filling every minute / cutting stuff short
Could someone else do this pretty much just as well or
better?
It is important to “waste your time” – be still! God is God!
Travelling alone can be a waste of time / loneliness etc. –
fellowship in the car or on the train
Tiredness leads to vulnerability
Preparation time – recovery time
Health
Family / work / church
Burn out?
What are your core things? What gives you energy?
Fill your heart with Christ, don’t fill your time in an
attempt to get meaning and fulfilment and reputation etc by doing stuff
What are the costs of this vision / what we are doing?
Personal ambition?
Obscurity and no monument would be okay, wouldn’t they?
Activism?
Keeping busy or keeping close to Christ
Over tiredness
Don’t confuse rest and play – you might be tired from
playing computer games late – how can you unwind well?
What gives you energy and drains your energy?
Feeling / calling – what do I want to do? What should I do?
Employment mistakes: lack of formal process - ignoring
warning signs in references / misgivings of others – trying to control other
people’s futures! – don’t try to replicate yourself – consider your impact on
the culture for good and ill – failure to show appreciation – allowing people in
the team to get isolated – over and underpaying – the golden handcuff of
overpaying (what could people get elsewhere?) – who do you want to retain? Can the
pay work for them?
Don’t have one intern have four – they can entertain each
other
Don’t be too flexible with junior members of staff – it can
be helpful for people if they need to be in the office at 9am – framework and flexibility
Cowardice can be a big mistake if you like to be liked –
should you be bolder and maybe be more forthright and risk some unpopularity?
Prayerful dependence
God’s grace – surprising gifts / opportunities – God’s kindness in difficulty
Posts
