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Is It Just Me or Is Work More Complex?
Data points are interesting to me as a leader but they don’t matter as much as trends. I have a trend question for you. Are our lives trending toward being simpler or more complex? If I asked you that question as it relates to your work, I would bet a large number of bitcoins that your response would be “more complex.”
If you are like most leaders, you are asked to do more with less, you are expected to roll with the punches as agendas change; you wrestle with the security of your own job as the whole loyalty aspect of the employer/employee relationship is redefined. More complex, for sure.
How About Life?
And how about your life outside of work? More complex? Maybe that’s why I cherish the things in life that add simplicity, or that at least combat complexity. As an example, the mobile phone has brought ease to the process of meeting someone at the airport, and for years allowed me to make a call home to ensure I avoided renting the same video two weeks in a row! Simplicity makes me happy.
It’s a Great Time to Be a Leader
Complexity actually presents an incredible leadership opportunity to you. Tackling the complexity of your work environment is an area where you can make the most difference as a leader. Give your organization simplicity. Show them clear direction.
This doesn’t mean that leadership requires you to hide the complexity from your organization. It’s more a matter of determining what that complexity means to the employees. Pick up any legitimate employee engagement study and you will see proof; answering the question “what does this mean to me?” is foundational and that the inability to provide that answer will get in the way of achieving sustainable success.
Give and Get
What will you get from your employees in return? Alignment, engagement, performance; the things that enable performance to be sustainable. This is exactly what employees are looking for, and exactly what you need to be successful. It’s kind of like their gift back to you!
So what will it take for your leadership to result in the gift of simplicity?
- Awareness. Knowledge of your organization’s priorities and understanding the bigger picture.
- Courage. The courage to set the course. As leaders, we have to deal with ambiguity. That’s the job of a leader. Put a stake in the ground and move forward with confidence.
- Clear communication. The dynamics that create complexity are persistent and perpetual. Think about complexity as the game whack-a-mole. Communication is your hammer.
So how will you know if you are leading in a way that makes things simple? Ask your employees and observe whether their focus is on the “right stuff.” Your success depends on it.