Things are going to get a lot worse before they get worse.
– Lily Tomlin
How bad does it need to get before you do something about it? (“It” is the processes and systems in your organization.)
In reading a post by Guy Kawasaki on the American Express OPEN Forum site, I found this comment, “Act like a prospective customer and call your company to see how the phone system and receptionist treat you.” And make sure that it’s still relevant. It made me think about checking on systems that I have implemented. Are the systems going as I perceive, or are they just appearing to be effective? Hmmm… Now I am wondering how I can really check. This comment really gave me a paradigm shift. It’s time to play the part of a customer or church member, and look at the systems in my organization from their point of view. What a great idea!
So, develop feedback systems that are authentic and consistent. Don’t check once and think that it’s done. Develop a balanced scorecard to constantly evaluate your systems. This is not a reflection on you, the leader, personally. It’s not a sign of failure. It’s simply a process check. Authenticity in leadership (an important Transformational Leadership trait) means that you eliminate the “elephant in the room” where everybody knows something is wrong, but nobody talks about it.
To be effective as a leader, you must establish systems to evaluate your systems.
By the way, be sure to develop strategies for changing the things that need changing, and monitoring the change.
Hugh Ballou
The Transformational Leadership Strategist TM
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