Harnessing business opportunities requires creative thinking. Apple, Google and others are successful in today’s economic environment because they are developing products and solutions that people want. Medical researchers are making advances because they are doing what has never done before.
Creative ideas do not emerge in organizations where only a few senior people have all the ideas and everyone else just executes them. Honing diverse opinions into a coherent, executable strategy takes a supportive culture, employees with a specific set of skills, and leaders who inspire the best from people.
My first blog on this subject (posted July 12th) addressed the foundation (participants and culture); Part II delineates the leader’s role in this dialogue. As in the first part, history, both world and economic, can teach us about how to, and not to, lead a team of experts with divergent points of views and priorities.
Achieving a rich exchange of ideas requires a leader to:
Mission and Goals
Articulate clearly the mission and goals so that all participants are working towards the same end.
For instance, when I worked in the CFO’s office at a large financial services firm, our mission was to ensure the firm’s overall financial integrity, including managing the Corporation’s interest rate and liquidity risk exposures. One day, I was asked to evaluate a new product. In my opinion, it did not provide the desired interest rate protection for the Corporation. It was not worth the expense. Even though the CFO did not agree with my position, I was not penalized for articulating my viewpoint. (It probably did not hurt that I was right.)
Building Enthusiasm
Engender a feeling among participants that what they are working on is important. People want to make a difference. No one comes to work to do a poor job.
Abraham Lincoln understood this imperative. In 1863, with Civil War casualties approaching 250,000 and public support for the War Between the States eroding, Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. In just over two minutes, he laid out the rationale for the Union’s sacrifices. Public opinion rallied behind Lincoln and he won re-election in 1864. Today, he is viewed as one of the United States’ greatest presidents.
Active Listening
Listen and raise intelligent questions about strategies being suggested. Participants need to feel that their opinion is being listened to – even if, ultimately, a different strategy is chosen. Otherwise, people will follow MASH’s Colonel Blake example; when asked by a General what he was thinking, he responded, “My mind is wide open to whatever you are thinking General.”
The Federal Reserve (Fed), through the 12-member FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee), sets monetary policy this way at eight regularly scheduled meetings: Each member, either a Federal Reserve Board President or Governor, airs his or her opinion on the state of the economy. Based on this dialogue, a policy consensus is reached. Once agreed upon, the Fed takes the appropriate actions.
Project Leadership
Identify one person as the point person. That person needs to be able to quickly gather, absorb, and synthesize different points of view. At the same time, this individual needs to be able to facilitate discussion, even if he or she is not the subject matter expert.
In the medical profession, a critically ill patient frequently has a team of doctors determining a plan of care. This group of physicians, with different expertise and experience, share their thoughts on the appropriate course of treatment. Based on their determination, patient care commences. Each doctor performs his or her duties according to the agreed upon plan. At the same time, the patient is closely monitored to ensure that he or she is responding as anticipated. If necessary, the team makes mid course changes.
Compensation Plan
Ensure that the compensation plan rewards people for the quality of their strategy (rationale, idea development, etc.) and their team participation.
In the sports world, each Championship team member, regardless of his post-season contribution, receives the same money and ring. Even if the team management does not want the player to return next season, he receives equal treatment.
Conclusion
Current events dramatically illustrate how challenging it can be to manage diverse opinions. In the foreign policy arena, pundits have recently questioned the Obama Administration’s ability to reach consensus from his subject-matter experts. However, when well done, as the success of companies such as Google and Apple demonstrates, the results can be spectacular.
Charlotte Nad consults with leaders and senior managers on business and organizational effectiveness.
