DC Velocity - May 2017

HOW TOUGH IS THIS, REALLY?

To be honest, it’s not a slam-dunk. But it’s not Olympic-level, either. Training and learning—and practice—are the basics. The components, all of which can be taught, learned, and mastered, have been covered as well as anywhere in previous BasicTraining columns. They are numerous and demand rigor and discipline, but they are not complicated. Maybe they boil down to effective communications, accountability for performance, clear visions, valuing diversity (both visible and invisible), and treating people like human beings.

In general, we undertrain and undereducate. And our focus tends to be on new systems and new processes. But every associate deserves—for the organization’s benefit— to learn how to lead, both in general and in specific areas. Periodic refreshers are also vital to keep the commitment alive, to recognize cosmic changes, and to bring new people into the leaders’ tent. We tend to do either a poor or nonexistent job in this arena.

CONSEQUENCES

So what happens when everyday people act like leaders? If you have a custodial role, the best moppers and fixers will clamor to change to your shift. If you have a team, you’ll get results, and the best and brightest will politick to get assigned to your team(s), leading to even better results. If you have a department, recruiting and retention will disappear as obstacles to consistent performance. If you head an enterprise, your organization will become a target destination for top performers—and that high performance will continue or even tick up a notch, delighting shareholders, customers, and employees.

Not only is business not a zero sum game, but outcomes
can genuinely be win-win-win.

Art van Bodegraven is, among other roles, chief design officer for the DES Leadership Academy; he can be reached at (614) 893-9414 or avan@columbus. rr.com. His website is www.artvanbodegraven.com.

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