Make a point of not sweating the small stuff
I recall a story narrated to me of a security officer who was stationed at the border crossing between two countries. A major part of his job was to prevent the smuggling of goods from the neighboring country into his own where the relative tax inequity made it lucrative to do so. While on duty he noticed a vehicle that crossed back and forth between the two neighbouring countries quite frequently and convinced that the driver was up to no good he took to inspecting it each time he saw it but, save for a few groceries that the driver claimed was his mission for each crossing, he found nothing worthy of suspicion. One day, after his routine inspection which as usual reveled nothing, he ventured the proposition; “If you come clean with me about what you are up to, I promise to let you go without any repercussions,” he proposed, to which the driver responded after getting further assurance from the officer, “I am in the business of smuggling brand-new vehicle tyres into the country. Each day I cross out of here with a set of old tyres and back into the country with a new set!”
How many times as leaders do we get caught in the same predicament where, because of habit or otherwise, we get so engrossed in the detail of what we are doing and forget to focus on the big picture? We forget that our responsibility is to trust our teams to deal with the nitty gritty of getting the daily grind going, in so doing releasing us to perform our role which in most cases is to focus on anticipating the future and preparing for it. As a leader who has been tasked with creating and driving strategy it is self-defeatist to keep your mind bogged in the detail. But how do you train yourself to do this?
The first point of call in changing this habit is in learning to delegate. Full delegation requires a high level of trust in you teams. A high level of trust can only be attained by firstly ensuring the right people in the right roles followed by ensuring that they are fully equipped, competence and tool wise, to do what they are supposed to do. Confidence in their competence will be earned over time but should not be at the cost of you forever snooping into what they are doing and how they are doing it. Clearly spelling out what you expect and quick guidance on how you think it should be done while leaving a door open for consultation should the need arise is enough to set the team rolling, and after that only occasional check-ins will be necessary. The more you trust your teams the more they deliver for you, and the more you are released to focus on the big picture.
Secondly, you need to learn to allow yourself the space to step back and visualize the future you seek. Drawing a mental picture of the future is a first step towards building a strategic plan. Closely aligned to that future state though must be the current reality you live with and making the connection between today and that future is what should be driving you. As you get more and more engrossed in delivering that future you will find that you interfere less and less with execution.
The manner in which you plan your time is key to developing this muscle. As you fill up your diary space ensure you leave sufficient time in it for indulgence in strategic thought. It is so easy to get carried away in meeting after meeting, especially in these days of virtual working, forgetting that it is equally as important to spend time checking on whether the actions that you are engrossed in are actually building a pathway to the future. The concept of ‘ME time’ in your weekly diary is an effective way around this dilemma.
Ensuring that the operational staff can connect the dots of their actions as leading to a collectively owned future is of utmost importance. Sharing the big picture with all involved in its building is a sure way of getting everybody in the chain delivering at the best. The story of the office cleaner at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters in the USA at the time of the global race to the moon who saw his job as a very important aspect of putting a man on the moon is very inspiring in this regard. An organization whose strategy is crystal clear to all involved in delivering it is most likely to win over one that keeps the big picture a secret, only known to the ‘all important’ leaders, because it drives shared ownership and commitment. Driving operational commitment by cascading strategy therefore relieves you of the need to micromanage.
Finally, remember that all this is not to say that you must not check on the shop floor once in a while. You must do so as this is necessary for driving engagement if for nothing else. It is rather to say that your worry should be less about operational detail and more on developing and cascading the big picture. So, don’t be like that security guard, stop sweating the small stuff!
