Igniting Extraordinary Leadership
Your organization is meeting expectations. Clearly what you do works. You have a track record of producing reliable results and growing at a rate that is satisfactory. You know how to do many things that when combined, produce predictable results. You sell an acceptable amount of product or service, deliver it at an acceptable quality of service and do so at a profit margin that works.
Such accomplishments reflect commendable management and a sensible approach. Nonetheless, true high performance requires acknowledging three critical factors.
1. A solid and reliable organization cannot make significant leaps, known as quantum leaps (QL), without venturing beyond existing knowledge.
2. Leaders must commit to a specific destination. Without a clear direction, a company may produce remarkable work, but it cannot effectively set and correct its course.
3. Any initiative that ventures into new territory will involve a degree of risk.
Predictable leaps forward are only possible when guided by a defined goal, within an environment that embraces risk and cultivates innovation. Let us establish what we are not discussing: stretching.
When stretching one’s body, the purpose is to improve strength, vitality, and resilience. Stretching in a business context pushes beyond the norm, setting slightly unattainable goals and making them attainable. While this approach can be prudent, it deviates from our current focus. Stretching existing systems can bring about incremental growth. It also can serve as a stress test for organizations; unveiling weaknesses, staffing challenges, and areas requiring attention. When utilized strategically it helps leaders crisis-proof their organizations and prepare them for substantial growth. However, stretching can stress employees and systems and is often a short-term response to urgent situations. Just as the body requires adequate recovery after deep stretching, the same is true in your business.
Contrarily, quantum initiatives serve a different purpose. They are not about crisis management or incremental progress, and they are not a diagnostic tool. Quantum initiatives aim to take organizations to uncharted territories. To achieve this, we must understand fundamental premises. Management enables us to leverage our existing knowledge, facilitating predictable and steady growth in various environments. Leadership, however, is required when pursuing performance beyond our current capabilities. Effective management expands what we already do. It allows us to do more, to do it better, or to explore slight variations. In essence, management is risk-averse. Leadership, on the other hand, involves committing to produce extraordinary outcomes despite uncertain circumstances. It gives us the ability to maintain integrity in the face of potential failure; inspiring others to share the commitment and be responsible for achieving the intended results. Leadership emerges when specific outcomes need to be achieved, and the means to achieve them are unknown. It thrives in environments tolerant of risk, (For more on the distinctions of Leadership and Management, see, A New Model of Leadership, By Dr. Alllan Scherr and Dr. Michael Jensen
One of the initial steps in facilitating a quantum shift is identifying and reinventing the background conversation; the unspoken cultural norms that shape the organization. Virtually all organizations have dominant background conversations that impose limitations on what is deemed possible. (For more on Background conversations and their impact, See…) These conversations must be replaced with new agreements that redefine what is achievable and what signifies a quantum shift in performance. Successful quantum shifts require careful identification and articulation of intended outcomes, which are typically far beyond the organization’s current capabilities. If an organization knows how to achieve a 10% growth rate, a quantum project should strive for 30% or even 50%. If a product development cycle takes six months, a quantum commitment would aim to accomplish it in three months. Objectives that stretch us are likely to expose weaknesses and stress systems, which are valuable lessons for preparing the organization for the challenges beyond stretching. Quantum shifts necessitate innovation and are not achievable through stretching alone.
Once the objectives are committed, participants enter a new domain — Challenge. Challenges arise when the current trajectory does not lead to the achievement of committed outcomes. Left unaddressed, a challenge transforms into a threat, causing disruption and unrest. Effective leadership demands confronting challenges productively while managing the inherent threats they pose. Embracing challenges is the natural state of leadership. Without challenge there would be no need for leadership; management alone would suffice.
If you aspire to produce extraordinary results, Prepare yourself for a journey of confronting challenges, both in yourself and your organization. In truth, everyone’s life involves grappling with challenges to some extent. The difference between this approach and the rest of life is that in a Quantum Project environment, we are intentionally bringing challengs to the surface and doing it on our own timeline.