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LEADERSHIP: PROVIDING THE NECESSARY RESOURCES
Speaking of the Battle of Britain, Winston Churchill immortalised the heroic few, whose bravery saved the lives of many. History is full of similar (but often less upbeat) stories. One that comes to mind is the WWI landing at ANZAC Cove in Turkey, where bungling by Churchill and other leaders left a small contingent of Commonwealth troops outnumbered and under-resourced. Many died in attempting the job they'd been given. In terms of your own leadership (particularly in the current downturn), what would your people say about your provisioning and support - in the context of what you've asked them to do?
One of the most debilitating concerns people can have is doubting their capacity to succeed in the task they've been given. Nothing de-energises people more quickly than an inner "no" to the simple question "can we do it?". And, in our Leadership Action Planning process, this is one of six central concerns we explore. If self-doubt is there, the leader must find actions to fortify the team and convince them success is both possible and worth fighting for.
For example, by pushing execution and follow-up more forcefully. Or, taking charge more strongly and encouraging others to do the same. Or importantly, aligning resourcing and systems more effectively to support the goals people have been given.
And, to show we try to practice just that, in our Leadership Action Planning process, we provide resources to help you select appropriate actions. For example, lists of possible actions, background explanations and mini-cases describing situations where leaders have been effective (and also ineffective).
Taking this functionality a step further, we now send a series of six follow-up emails, once you've completed your plan. Each addresses one of the action areas you've chosen as key to addressing what's holding your people back.
To illustrate this, below is the material relevant to the specific topic of this Potshot: aligning resources.
We hope this and similar material will help you and other leaders feel more confident in responding to that critical question "can we do it?". And, if so, you'll find it easier to enthuse others. That's half the battle.
Action Area #4: ALIGN RESOURCING AND SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT GOALS
ENERGY | Organisational Outcome: ORGANISATIONAL WILL | |
RESOURCINGMost of us like to start a car journey with a full tank; and, to keep filling up at regular intervals. Running out is embarrassing and sometimes dangerous. Good leaders ensure their teams are suitably provisioned with skills, equipment and whatever else they need to travel efficiently and safely to the agreed destination and carry out allotted tasks on the way - with will and enthusiasm. | ||
EXAMPLES | ||
Positive Supporting expectations - Deputy Chairman, media company. He backed a board decision to appoint a new CEO/CFO partnership to turnaround the business, But, unlike others, he insisted the new team be given full autonomy to take required hiring and firing decisions, and to re-allocate operating budgets so they could carry out effectively - and rapidly - the priorities the board had given them. His determination to align resourcing with expectations was critical in laying the foundation for a fast and successful change in the company's fortunes. Withdrawal - Chief executive, cultural organisation. In a highly unionised and unhappy organisation, at a time of difficult organisational change, significantly reduced the access by a staff member, who had traded on frequent and visible access to the previous chief executive. The new CEO pointed out that to continue such access would indicate acceptance of this person's poor performance and wayward work habits. Other staff commented on the change and its meaning. | Negative Extravagance - Owner, domestic services company. He pushed an intensive cost-cutting program in order to rebuild profitability. But, failed to set a suitable example. He continued to drive the same expensive company car and travel first class. Not surprisingly, staff failed to commit to the turnaround, until the owner and other senior executives showed they were sharing the pain. Self-indulgence - Director, community arts centre. He built a successful operation with workrooms and well-presented shop, which developed significant following and reasonable profitability. But, he allowed a new, peripheral venture to distract focus and effort away from the core activities. The director enjoyed the new challenge but it undermined the viability (and acceptance) of the total structure. As a result, he was relieved of his job. Black hole - New Chief Executive, venture capital business. As part of an existing portfolio of investments, she inherited responsibility for an investment in an educational aids manufacturer and distributor, which had good opportunities but was not developing well. Because of personal belief in the organisation's vision (and potential industry growth), she recommended increased investment in the business and assistance to the operating management. Having made this strong personal commitment, she lost objectivity and, six months on, supported a further request for funding - thereby increasing the eventual loss when the business failed. Misallocation - Founder, volunteer organisation. He did a good job building the membership base and attracting financial backing (in large part from one wealthy supporter). However, he failed to allocate either the time of volunteers or the group's funds to maximise organisational growth and potential. | |
ILLUSTRATIVE ACTION IDEAS | ||
Action | Rationale | |
| 1. Prioritise funding, support, authority and access in line with agreed goals. Are the most important projects and teams getting sufficient resourcing - and access to you; are achievers being encouraged; and, resources removed from low performing projects and people? | Too often leaders fail to resource their teams adequately. Mean-minded or lazy leaders allocate responsibility but not the necessary resources. Weak leaders promote cronies rather than high performers. In either case, team performance - and Organisational Will - suffer. | |
| 2. Match all systems and procedures to the vision and values. Do IT, HR and other processes support agreed goals and strategies? Can alignment be strengthened? | If internal processes are unaligned with the organisation's goals, staff waste time and effort fighting "the system" to get their job done. | |
| 3. Link up people into teams and task forces to work on key priorities. Are goals that cross organisational boundaries supported by teams across appropriate divisions and departments? Have you linked your team to outside resources? | It is the leader's responsibility to provide bridges to other parts of the organisation - and beyond - so that the team can perform to maximum advantage. | |
| 4. Avoid black holes and unwinnable battles. Has any project shown sufficient signs of failure to merit early closure? Do you have high-minded but uncommercial projects soaking up resources? | We all become wedded to projects we have initiated. It is hard (but necessary) to be objective. If necessary, ask a third party to do an independent review. | |
| Benefits of action | Teams with adequate resourcing and systems feel empowered to perform to maximum ability and have confidence in being able to reach their targets. They know the buck stops with them, since they have been given what they need. |
| Symptoms of absence | Insufficient resourcing erodes a team's enthusiasm and commitment - and creates an expectation of (and excuse for) failure. This problem is all too common in the public sector, where policy decisions and budget allocations get out of sync. Staff get the blame for not delivering but often lack the resources to do so. |
| Risks from overuse | Too much resourcing can be as bad as too little - making teams self-important and focused on using (and sometimes hoarding) resources rather than achieving goals. |
Some questions to ask yourself: | ||
| 1. Are your team's priorities clear so that sound resource allocation decisions can be made? 2. Which high-priority projects need accelerating - and hence more resources? When? 3. Which internal processes make it difficult for staff to achieve their goals? 4. With whom have you linked your people to enhance their capabilities and resourcing? 5. Has the time come to evaluate whether certain projects will ever pay off? Will you close them? 6. What percentage of your total resources have you reallocated this year? | ||
Categories for this Potshot:
Great-leader Potshots, Lift organisational will, Push execution and follow-up, Take charge and support others, Align resourcing with goals,
Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership®
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