June | 2021 | Little Leadership Lessons

Note: June has been crazy. As I attempted to post my end of month blog, I experienced some technical issues. This is a repost from 2014 on planning. Even though the content is from 2014, planning remains an important leadership function. The content is just as relevant today as then. Enjoy.

“Plans are nothing; Planning is everything.” Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Planning is one of the fundamental functional areas of management. Leaders at all levels plan. Depending on the event and their level in the organization determines how they plan, but the planning process should remain the same. Whether you want to develop a new vision for your organization, or you are putting together a small meeting for your staff, planning is the process that identifies the needs for what is desired in the future, the resources necessary to accomplish the task, actions requiring completion, controls and guide posts to watch for along the way and a statement of success. One of the reasons planning is valued more than the finished plan is understanding that no battle plan ever survives past first enemy contact, but in the planning process, key leaders have opportunities to evaluate different courses of actions, allowing them to change course as the situation evolves. This topic deserves more than the few hundred words dedicated here, however my intent is to provide readers a general direction for their own planning processes.
The first step in any plan in to identify the objectives. Plans are only required if there is difference between the current situation and what you expect in the future. The purpose of the plan is to change the future. At the strategic level, leaders develop mission statements, share their vision and establish guiding principles. At the operational level, leaders develop work processes, gather resources, train workers and establish goals and task steps.
Once the object is identified, develop alternative actions. Often this is done during brainstorming sessions, although other idea generating activities also work. Ideas do not have to appear practical or traditional. The important action at this stage is developing ideas. You may find that some of what originally appear to be flaky ideas in the beginning, when paired with other ideas, may work the best.
Now that you have several alternatives, take time to evaluate them, whether alone or in a group. Identify their efficiency, alignment with organizational guiding principles, likelihood of success and other factors selected by the group’s leaders. During this stage, you should start to develop the measure for success. As alternatives are eliminated, the better ideas become evident. The completion of this step should involve a completed written plan. The plan does not have to answer all questions, but should provide enough information for those charged with implementing to understand the intent. Remember the old saying, “An imperfect plan delivered on time trumps the perfect plan delivered a day late.”
Action is the next step in the planning process. A complete plan is not required to begin action. The great thing about mission and vision statements are they provide everyone an idea about which direction they should be traveling, even if they lose the directions to the final destination. Once the decision has been made to move towards a certain goal, action can begin. Starting movement is the hardest part of any change. Starting movement is the only way the plan will succeed.
Once things begin to move, it is important to monitor progress. The plan should include specific check points where staff gather to report progress. Like any journey, if you don’t take the time to check your compass and read the road signs, you may find you took a left when you should have turned right in Albuquerque. These controls may include checks on spending, use of resources, percent of quality improvement, number of units sold or any other metric that measures progress.
A final and critical step in the planning process is obtaining commitment from stakeholders. Too many projects fail for lack of this important support. Ensure the key leaders understand the resources requiring commitment for success. Obtain contracts from customers if necessary. Lock in resources from suppliers early.
A finished plan may not be fancy. It may not be complete. What matters is the process used to arrive at the plan. Follow these steps and you increase your plan’s success. Start by determining the objective. Identify alternatives to reach the objective. Evaluate the alternatives, selecting the one most in line with organizational values and vision. Begin action as soon as there is commitment. Obtain commitment from key stakeholders. Check your progress regularly and plan those check-ups. As your project rolls along, you may find success lies off the road you selected to reach your destination, but through your planning process you identified detours and side trips. In the end, you will find your planning helped you make small adjustments along the way and reach your destination.

Photo by author

Funny thing about leaders…even when they lack a title, they still influence others to become better people and improve their organizations. These leader care about their people so they will achieve the organizations mission. As a result, their followers remain their followers months and years after their formal relationship ends. The best leaders often find themselves providing purpose, direction and motivation to former followers. Many of those followers exceed the leader’s success. Plenty of people smarter than me have filled books discussing how these bonds form and stay strong over many years. This blog will hardly scratch the surface. Instead, I simply seek to encourage readers to evaluate their own leader-follower relationships to find ways to become better leaders.

Strong leaders know making an organization successful requires them to hire, develop, and retain high quality people who are dedicated, knowledgeable, skilled, and motivated. They communicate the organizational goals. They provide an inspiring vision for the future that turns employees into fans. In turn, those they lead independently use their skills and abilities to accomplish great things that move the organization in the direction of success.

Once one goal or a set of goals are accomplished, the leader points to the next hilltop. The journey begins again. The workers are ready to proceed because their leader publicly acknowledged their great work and sacrifices to achieve their current successes.

The leader creates opportunities to become familiar with employees, their families, dreams, hopes, and needs. S/he teaches and mentors others to align their personal values with the guiding principles of the organization. As a result, employees feel an increasing sense of success and fulfillment as the organization achieves success. These feeling create a deeper dedication to the leader, the organization, and the mission.

Washington is an example of a leader others followed long after he surrendered his official titles to lead others.
-Painting by John Trumbull – Public Domain

As a leader, you have to develops your own personal style to learn about those who follow you. Learn to communicate how their desires and abilities intertwine with those of the organization. Some leaders throw parties for their employees on their birthdays. Others use group training activities. Some dedicate a few moments each day to speak to their people and ask about important personal and professional issues. In every case, the interaction between the leader and follower is personalized in some way. The follower believes the leader personally cares for them and their situation. If faked the facade quickly tumbles causing major problems for the organization. However, even the most socially awkward leader appears caring just by going through the motions.

History is filled with examples of leaders who remain engaged with those they led long after their business relationship ended. George Washington certainly sets that example. After the War for Independence, he returned to his simple life only to find those he led in battle and their families still needed him to lead the new nation. Omar Bradley was well liked and selected to run the Veteran’s Administration in part because so many veterans trusted him. Both of these men achieved the difficult tasks assigned them. However, each showed concern for Soldiers individually and collectively. They gained the reputation doing what was necessary to accomplish the mission by being sensitive to the needs of those who would be tasked to actually do the work. They gained life long followers.

Take time to meet with your people so you understand what motivates them, what skills they have, and issues in their lives that may interfere with their work. It shows you care, which makes them care about the job.
– by unknown from pxhere.com CC0

Great leaders have two important concerns. Success of their people and success of their organization. They understand that unless the aspirations of employees are tied to the vision of the organization, neither will be truly successful. Leaders inspire their employees to succeed by learning their dreams, concerns, and desires. Strong leaders find ways to create a culture that cares for people, so those people care enough to make the organization successful. Quality leaders do this by creating a vision of a future that does not exist but appears to those s/he leads. S/he creates a culture learning, persistence, and innovation by sharing inspiring stories about the successes of teams and individuals. They align people’s values with those of the organization. Great leaders extend their influence long after formal relationships end because they genuinely care for the people they lead. As a result, those people are more successful and work hard to make their organization successful. Care about your people, and they will care enough to accomplish your mission.

Little Leadership Lessons

Inspiring tomorrow's leaders today.

Monthly Archives: June 2021

The Art of Planning

Caring Leaders

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