May, 2019 | Tools to Lead

Confront the Brutal Facts

The third principle from the book Good to Great, by Jim Collins, is that companies/organizations which move from good to great, and stay there, are willing to confront the brutal facts of their environment/cultural/abilities, yet not lose faith. “The good-to-great companies displayed two distinctive forms of disciplined thought. The first, … is that they infused the entire process with the brutal facts of reality. The second, . . . is that they developed a simple, yet deeply insightful, fame of reference for all decisions. . . . You absolutely cannot make a series of good decisions without first confronting the brutal facts.” (69,70)

The focus of this principle is to not allow or accept a tepid evaluation which denies reality. By that I mean to continue to say how wonderful we are or how well things are going, when in reality there are indications that things are not going so well. Most would call this “rocking the boat.” This type of willingness to confront the brutal truths of the organization and it’s environment/culture/abilities and not loose faith is a rare commodity. The ability to stick one’s head into the sand and ignore the obvious negatives has allowed many organizations to quietly drift into a stagnant, placid pond.

Collins writes: ” In confronting the brutal facts, the good-to-great companies left themselves stronger and more resilient, not weaker and more dispirited. There is a sense of exhilaration that comes in facing head-on the hard truths and saying. ‘We will never give up. We will never capitulate. It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail.'” (81)

This principle is one of the most difficult for many leaders to accept. The resistance either stems from the unwillingness to admit that some part of what has been implemented is simply not working, or the inability to even see the negatives. Both are caused by pride. Confronting the brutal truth takes a certain amount of humility.

1st Who, . . . Then What

First Who . . . Then What. The second principle from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins is that it is less important to set a direction than it is to get the right people “on the bus.” The “on the bus” concept is used to denote those who are aligned with the nebulous thought of being involved in something great, and who have faith (although I’m not sure Collins would use that word) in the leader.

He states: “The good-to-great leaders understood three simple truths. First, if you begin, with ‘who,’ rather than ‘what,’ you can more easily adapt to a changing world. . . . Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. . . . Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.” (42) And probably impossible.

Collins’ emphasis upon “first the who” accurate. It doesn’t take much thought to come up with enterprises which we would consider effective, without also recognizing the importance of the individuals who are part of the team producing that effectiveness. Look at your own life. Consider how much personality plays into effectiveness. Collins states: “If you have the right executives on the bus, they will do everything within their power to build a great company, but not because of what they will ‘get’ for it, but because they simply cannot imagine settling for anything less.” (50) Those who invest the most have the greatest likelihood of seeing the best effect, i.e. you get out of anything about the same as you put into it.

The focus on “who” then “what” is interesting in theory but in actuality, I think it ignores the reality that a certain amount of direction (mission, vision, etc.) has to be in place to attract the right people. Jesus approached some of his disciples and said follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Human nature is drawn to the desire to leave something behind that is greater than themselves. So, it might really be a “both/and” dynamic in practical terms.

Level 5 Leadership

According to Jim Collins in Good to Great, one of the key traits of Level 5 leadership is: “ambition first and foremost for the company and concern for its success rather than for one’s own riches and personal renown. Level 5 leaders want to see the company even more successful in the next generation, comfortable with the idea that most people won’t even know that the roots of that success trace back to their efforts.” (25, 26) This placing of the interests of the company above self evidently is an unusual trait. It seems that many of those who are willing to step into leadership do so because they are interested in leaving a legacy which can be directly traced back to their wise leadership.

When discussing this with my daughter, she thought the Level 5 leader might be characterized by an individual whose concern for those who work for them, those they lead, is genuine and interested in their best as well as the company. She also postulated that the Level 5 leader might also be one who does not see themselves as the lynchpin of leadership, and often are unaware of their own ability. These observations about Level 5 leaders is born out by Collins’ research.

Collings also states that: “…Level 5 leadership is not just about humility and modesty. It is equally about ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great. … Level 5 leaders are fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce results.”(30) The ability to make decisions, often hard and unpopular decisions is not as prevalent as one might assume. Even harder is to stay a course which for the short-run seems as if it will have an irrecoverable effect. Level 5 leaders are able to analyze the data and trends, face the hard truths of the reality and make decisions which keep the company focused and successful.

Finally, “Level 5 Leaders look out the window to apportion credit to factors outside themselves when things go well (and if they cannot find a specific person or event to give credit to, they credit good luck). At the same time, they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility, never blaming bad luck when things go poorly.” (35) This is entirely the opposite of most leaders, who look to blame something, or anything, for their failure.

Now we come full circle back to a concept which Collins refutes, but his research supports (in my opinion): i.e. everything rises and falls on leadership. You probably thought I would come back to this and you were right. The Level 5 Leader is aware that what happens can be reacted to, either to blame (wallowing in a victim mentality) or to see the opportunities (moving forward).

See, my take on this Level 5 leadership thing can be summed up on these points:

Everything rises and falls on leadership – leaders take responsibility.
Leaders care about those they work with, wanting them to realize their potential
Leaders want results, NEED results, and don’t care who gets the credit. (this last part is definitely descriptive of a different kind of leader)
Leaders want the best for the company and for things to be better AFTER they leave than even it was when they were there.

Let’s think about this

Participate!

Leadership could be defined by two characteristics: Leaders participate and Leaders take responsibility. These two characteristics, are foundational to the nature of a leader . . . and both can be learned. Participation is the will to become involved, the will to choose to enter into the task at hand. Leaders will themselves to participate. They choose to contribute their skills and abilities to the mission, even to the defining of that mission and the strategic planning AND EXECUTION of those plans.

Leaders Participate by choice. For some that choice may seem to be a natural expression of their personality, however, anyone can choose to participate and discipline themselves to enter into the fray. Whether it is the discussion in a classroom, participation in a local church project, or heading up a major project at work – those who participate are more likely to become involved in the leadership of that activity than those who sit back and wait. This is the mark of the exemplary follower and the leader.

Along the same lines is the fact that true leaders take responsibility. Let’s face it – most of the world is looking for someone else to take responsibility. Not the leader. She is willing to accept the responsibility for the success or failure of a project because she knows the gifts and abilities she brings to the table and is confident in her ability to succeed.

The willingness to take responsibility characterizes those who are unwilling to simply allow and accept mediocrity. When her world slows to a stagnant point this leader will take responsibility for her own actions and move forward to a better place and a better solution.

I’ve seen the difference between those who are called leaders, but don’t participate, don’t bring their ‘A’ game, those who are quick to blame others for failure, and those who participate and take responsibility. One erodes credibility and demoralizes their teams, the other inspires and works with their team to achieve the impossible.

Participate! and take Responsibility.

Confrontation Without Purpose = EGO

So, I was talking with a friend, who was basically lied to by his boss about why a certain component of his salary package could not be offered, only to find out it had been offered to the previous person to hold the same position. He was understandably upset. Because the boss was out of town for a couple of days he couldn’t storm into his office to confront him as he wanted to do. To say he was FRUSTRATED would be an understatement.

I asked him what he wanted as a result of the confrontation. He said that he wanted the boss to promise to be truthful in the future. I shared with him the story of the scorpion and the frog and suggested that a promise from a scorpion is worth exactly nothing if it runs contrary to the nature of the scorpion. So, now what do you want from the confrontation; an apology? an increase in your salary package? what.

The bottom line is that confrontation without a clear purpose is usually a matter of salving the ego as much as it is about justice. And if it is about ego, then one has to examine one’s motive for the work. If your motive is because this is your calling – then confrontation only has value as it secures justice, not just to make you feel like you stood up for yourself. This is not a philosophy for the individual with insecurity issues. Can you rise above your own ego to pursue the best path for the organization? Yet, even in calling there is a line where one cannot turn away from situations which require a stand to be made. How one makes that stand, however, IS within your power and many do not take into account the power of their words, nor the long term effect of a hastily spoken word. Judgment as to another’s motives is always risky at best, and often puts you in the position of the pot calling the kettle black. Thank you very much Mr. Pot. You are welcome, Mr. Kettle.

However, if your motive for being at the organization is NOT a calling but merely a step toward a personal goal, confrontation may be of greater necessity, yet again, the choice of the wording is crucial to a satisfactory resolution. It seems that some people have an uncanny knack of selecting words which cause others to respond with anger and a desire to hurt back.

Coming back to the issue cited at the beginning of this post. Integrity in leadership cannot be overstated. Say what you mean, mean what you say, and let what you say be the truth.

Everything Rises and Falls on Leadership

There are some who might contest the truth expressed in the title of this blog, i.e. that everything rises and falls on leadership. They might suggest that leadership is but one of the components of success, and that other factors contribute to the rise or fall of any endeavor. And there may be some truth in such an observation. However, all other factors can be overcome/enhanced through good leadership, or be allowed to scapegoat poor leadership.

That is the core of much of what we see happening around us: Leaders who whine about inadequate resources, inept followers, and the unfairness of their circumstances. Unfortunately, true leadership is rare. Leaders whose passion and willingness to “stand in the gap” are the great need of our nation, our communities, and our churches.

Although this theme “Everything rises and falls on leadership” first came to my attention through the work of John Maxwell, I have tested its validity in a myriad of situations and can definitely attest that even when it seems as if there are reasonable excuses for failure, leadership is the culprit, just as consistent success is the evidence of good leadership.

Are you succeeding or failing? Have you taken leadership of your own life, or are you waiting on something to happen so that you do not have to expend the effort? Read more about this in my book: The Principles of Life.