What does it take to develop and lead great organisations and teams?
As I start to embark on the next stage of my teaching career, I started to read some leadership books. Good to Great, Legacy and Extreme Ownership were the top three recommended to me. It striked me that they each looked at different succesful organisations from business to sport to the military and yet there were key themes that ran throughout.
What was it that turned an organisation from good to great?
How did the All blacks fulfil their goal of winning the World Cup?
What qualities do Navy Seals pass on to future leaders to ensure they continue to perform at the highest levels in extreme conditions?
1. Establish Point A
Jim Collins talks about leading with questions to find out where your organisation is on its journey. Key to this is being honest to yourself and to others, confront the brutal facts. If something or someone isn't right for your team you need to be open and honest and work out whether you need to adapt or act. In order to move forward you need to establish where you currently are to inform your next step. This is your Point A.
2. Find your North Star
Once you've established your starting point you need to work out where your team are heading. Whats your long term vision, in Good to Great its called your 'Hedgehog Concept'. For the All Blacks it was simple, leave the shirt in a better place than when they received it. Yes they had other goals, winning the World Cup for example, but when you boil it down, their goal was all about improving on the previous generation so that the next generation can continue the success. I like to think of vision as a north star, you may not necessarily be able to go straight to it. You might have to take lots of turns on your journey, but the key is knowing where you want to end up. Without it you are making decisions with no idea where you want it to take you.
3. Get going and don't stop
To go from Point A to Point B its all about execution. Jim Collins uses the flywheel concept that it may take a lot of effort to get started and to get the team onto the right path, but once it's moving the momentum builds. "It is only through consistency over time, through multiple generations, that you get maximum results." (Collins, Good to Great). Jocko Willink uses the phrase "Prioritise and Execute", take care of your problems one at a time, highest priority first. The All Blacks make use of language to build momentum. "Language is used to turn vision into action. It is the transferor from leader to the led" (Kerr, Legacy). This is echoed in Extreme Ownership, Jocko Willink says that in order to excel as a leader you need to simplify concepts and be clear and concise with your instructions.
4. OODA Loop
Now that you're on the road to success it is important that you regularly reassess where you are to continue moving forward. It is this reflection that builds long lasting successful organisations. "Decline is inevitable unless leaders prepare for change - even when standing at the pinnacle of success." (Kerr, Legacy). I like how the James Kerr summarises this in Legacy as an OODA loop. Observe, Orient, Decide, Act.
Observe and Orient - Collect and analyse the data, map out where you are
Decide - Work out your options and what your next step is
Act - Execute the plan
This is a constant loop and something that is to be referred back to time and time again. "Excellence is a process of evolution, of cumulative learning, of incremental improvement." (Kerr, Legacy)
5. Be Humble
On a personal level, the most successful leaders are humble. Jim Collins calls these people Level 5 leaders and says that they give credit when things are going well, and take responsibility when things aren't going so well. In Legacy, James Kerr states 'successful leaders balance pride with humility'. Even when the All Blacks were beating lots of other teams, they were humble enough to realise that they can still improve and still get better, they weren't the finished article. No one was bigger than the team, they embraced a no d***heads culture, where everyone is flying in formation. There was a nice story James Kerr mentions about how after a game, and after the press, and after various team meetings, Richie McCaw, the All Blacks captain (along with others) stayed behind to sweep the changing room clean. Even the leader isn't bigger than the team, don't make it about you. Team first.
These top organisations have lots of things in common and even when different people have analysed what it is they are doing these common themes appear time and time again. It reminds me that even in different environments, with different people and over different generations, successful leaders boils down to doing the basics well.