In a crisis, the possibility of failure feels close. This often drives leaders into command-and-control mode: more-rigid schedules, tighter budgets, exaggerated targets, hyperbolic promises. Military metaphors proliferate. But during a crisis of deep ambiguity and uncertainty, what’s more important than the rhetorical demonstration of certainty is the formulation of a strong, shared sense of meaning. Leaders can’t impose this from above. Their role is to become activists who convene people — employees, suppliers, customers, members of the communities that the company serves — to explore and define that meaning together.
How the Best Leaders Answer “What Are We Here for?”
Finding meaning isn’t a top-down endeavor.
October 27, 2020
Summary.
Too often in a crisis, leaders resort to command-and-control leadership, focusing on rigid goals and rules to sustain the operations of their organizations. Instead, they should look to define the purpose behind their organizations. That shouldn’t be a top-down exercise: In examples from the NHS to private corporations and nonprofits, we can see that the best leaders develop the meaning of their organizations in concert with all those affected by it–employees, customers, patients, neighbors, and leaders.