During a recent lunch conversation with some good food and good friends, we found ourselves discussing our past, and current, failures and what we learned. Each of us could list several failures where we learned a valuable leadership lesson we would have only learned by failing.
From personal experience, I have seen too many people move into executive leadership roles thinking they have all the answers; when in reality, they don’t. I know this, because I learned this the hard way; not because I had to deal with someone who thought they knew it all, but because I was the one who thought I knew it all. I quickly learned I had no idea what I was doing. In my knowing what to do I ignored the culture, the rhythms, the expectations, and anything about those who reported directly to me. I walked in thinking I knew more than those who reported to me. I came in wanting to make sweeping dramatic changes immediately, because I knew what was best, and what would work. Needless to say, I made a big mistake, and after my first week, I did a full stop and stated to think in differently. So, what did I do?
First: I prioritize relationship building. I realized success depends on relationships, and not on focusing on what I knew, but what others knew. I looked past the “org chart” and started to focus on “think tanks.” I started spending time thinking strategically and developing an environment of being present. I realized an environment of purpose, an environment of relationship, an environment of interaction would help us focus on possibilities. I developed nurturing relationships with city officials, department heads, influencers, community leaders, and key stakeholders looking to them for ideas, and knowledge. For 30 days I focused on building relationship and focus on others. I need to stop focusing on my plans, my wants, my needs, and started to focus on others.
Second, through prioritizing relationships, I developed a foundation of trust. Because relationships center on trust, I developed safe spaces for open, honest dialogue centering on respect where people could trust I would have their back. I listened. I wanted to hear their voices, their ideas, and their desires. When I did, their ideas became the starting point for dialog, and my ideas were not the “this is what we will do” ideas. I strived to foster an environment where all ideas had value, all ideas had merit. I found employees, elected officials, and other stakeholders feel heard and respected. I, and hopefully they, found our one-on-one meeting to be the highlight of my day. I wanted to hear what they had to share. I strived to develop active listening skills and demonstrate empathy to issues they were facing. I set for myself, clear expectations concerning how I communicated and how I collaborated with everyone. In listening, truly listening, I was able to hear solutions I never considered.
Third, I developed an environment of open communication and positive feedback. By focusing on relationships and trust I soon found we were developing an environment were all meeting held to the same focus. I found directors, managers, and supervisors focusing on two-way conversations with their direct reports. All staff were encouraged because none of their ideas were discounted, and they felt they were being heard, and they became excited about possibilities.
Fourth, I focused on easy early wins. When I started to focus on easy wins, I developed a culture where harder wins were easy to tackle, and no one was overwhelmed. My desire to created sweeping changes immediately fell flat on its face. Because by refocusing, listening to others, and hearing all voices we developed a way to receive and develop better results. I learned, when staff identified the processing issues, and we increased follow through, we closed the gaps in governance issues we were facing and did so quicker without the normal tension found in change. Sure, the wins were small, but never discount the power of small changes, because they make facing the larger issues easier.
By focusing on those four ideas, it led us to what we called “flexible leadership” and “early wins.” Staff whose position centered on data entry, repairing roads, or making sure the park lawn was mowed, now found themselves leading project meeting with staff from other departments and senior level executive staff who were not allowed to lead those meeting. By doing so, senior level executives found talents they never thought possible within other staff. One time the Director of finance came into my office and told me she just found out one of our entry level staff on the road crew just finished his Batchelor’s Degree in Accounting. She was so impressed with him in a meeting he led, she wanted to know how hard it would be to offer him an opportunity to move to her department so he could have accounting experience, and she could mentor him on passing his CPA Exam. I told her to connect with HR as see what is possible, she did and the last I heard he is now a CPA working in her department.
Final Thoughts: Failures should provide valuable lessons and can fosters resilience leading to encouraging and amazing innovations. Do not see failure as the opposite of success; failure is a powerful part of the learning process allowing individuals to develop the skills and insights necessary to achieve their goals. Never fear failure, it is beneficial to view it as an opportunity for growth and improvement.
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