A Business Leader's Main Job is to Manage Chaos

The Coach wants to make you the best leader you can be and by reading this article you will get great tips on how to lead your organization to great success.

Source: Calgary Beacon

"A leader I met with recently said something that has stuck with me. “Most people are trying to do what they believe is in the best interest of the organization. The trouble is they may not have the same point of view on what that is. And that leads to chaos.”

As an example, take the case of two account managers who are serving the same customer who is going through a difficult period and who are both under pressure to reduce prices on upcoming orders. One account manager agrees, believing that loyalty to this longstanding customer is in the company’s best interests. The other account manager refuses, believing that doing so will lead to price erosion across customers and put the profitability of the company at risk.

We have here two people operating with the best of intentions and trying to do the right thing. Both options are valid. The conclusions they reach, however, are in direct conflict with each other, and clearly create confusion with the customer.

In one of my recent columns I argue that we had to decrease our obsession with leadership and increase our focus on good management. This article, however, highlights one reason leadership is, and always will be, critical to the success of an enterprise. Leaders provide the guidance others need to make decisions and take actions. Without overarching vision, values and guidelines, organizations run the risk of expending a lot of energy in pursuit of the wrong goals.

Good leaders provide a compass

A good leader provides a team or organization with vision, values and guidelines. These are critical to helping people make the best possible decisions and operate in a way that advances the company’s strategy and objectives. A good leader provides clarity, decision criteria, and help in maintaining consistency across people and over time. Is the company’s core value to maintain customer relationships at all costs? Is it to drive profitability no matter what? What are the strategies and values our two account managers should use to guide their decisions?"

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