Reverse Paradigms: Form versus Freedom

A man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door. – Confucius

I spent 40 years planning and implementing worship. One of my constant struggles was the tension between form and freedom. Over time, I learned to appreciate the fact that the area of tension between form and freedom is where the real clarity and focus are present.

In graduate school, at least 50% of the lab choir from the conducting program was made up of people who were computer programmers. At first this did not make sense to me, until one of them pointed out that there is a relationship – it’s freedom within form. There is a very precise structure to music and within that structure we must be creative. In fact, mastering the structure and the technique allow ultimate creativity. However, musicians deal with creativity in real time, while programmers can lay down code and it runs in the future. Conducting a musical ensemble is similar to leading a team, in that you must have the structure in place, and lead in real time and make decisions in real time that will affect your future. In this example, ensemble equals synergy within the team. Synergy is a result that is greater than the sum of the parts, as Covey points out.

I meet leaders from organizations of all types and sizes, who tell me they don’t want to write down their goals and don’t want to do a strategic plan because it limits their creativity. I respond, pointing out that it’s the plan which provides clarity and allows the mind to focus on creative implementation. The very fact that you know where you’re going helps you to fully focus on using your creative energy and your creative brain power.

In a reverse paradigm, it’s really the form that gives us the freedom.

With freedom comes responsibility. If we lead an organization, we are in fact responsible for the outcomes. We have financial responsibility, we have people responsibility, and we have content and deliverables responsibility. The only way to be clear about our responsibility as leaders is to define what the outcomes should be.

Planning is hard work. It’s through planning that we gain clarity and are able to unleash all the creativity in ourselves and in our culture where we live. I call this paying the upfront price. The upfront price is far less than the cost of repair, repeating things, and failure. You pay this upfront price in doing a lot of heavy lifting with your brain at the beginning. Once this heavy lifting is done, then it’s time to implement the plan.  There is also a discipline which is required to follow the plan. The ultimate clarity is being able to know what can be delegated.

Here is my formula for the paradigm between form and freedom:

1) Define the future in the present tense as long-term objectives

2) Share those objectives with your team in very specific language

3) Work with the team to develop an action plan with steps to achieve those objectives

4) Time activate the action steps, and put each action step on your calendar so that you know exactly when it’s going to be done

5) Finally, set an evaluation date with accountabilities with the team coming back together and defining what happened, what didn’t happen, and what to do about it.

Effective leaders are successful because they do make things happen, and they know how or learn how things happen. When things happen, and we empower the team to make things happen and their role in making them happen, then we become the person of influence.

A leader is primarily a person of influence.