Making our way through the fog

As I was walking up from the hill in Laguna Beach I climb most days, I was in the fog. At the bottom of the hill it was almost as if the sun had not come up. I was walking in the dark. The closer I came to the top of the hill, the thinner was the cloud cover. I could see the moon, and the sun was just coming up over the top of the world above Laguna. At the top of the hill, I was above the fog, the sun was bright, and I could see out to sea. The other hills popped out of the fog here and there. What a beautiful way to begin the day.

As I began the walk back down I began to think about a conversation I had with a client a couple of months ago. He is a visionary leader. He is the President of a company going through a major transition from a market that is no longer productive to a whole new endeavor. Over the past year we have been working together to help each of the team members move from what they had been doing previously into new roles. Not all the members of the team had made the transition. The President was frustrated, and even a little angry, that one of his key players was not doing what, in the President's mind, he needed to be doing. We talked about this for awhile.

He said he had clearly articulated his vision. He told everyone in the company what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go. He was frustrated because one of his key players wasn't doing what was necessary.

He said he felt like he had been on the mountaintop and had pointed out the next mountain he wanted to get to. Since he wasn't seeing the progress he wanted he was frustrated. He told his key player what to do, but it wasn't happening.

It seemed to me the real issue was that as a visionary leader, the president had laid out the larger objectives. He told people where he wanted to go. In his mind, he had done everything he needed to do. At least he had given everything he personally would have needed to get to the next objective. Even though he had laid out the strategic objective, he didn't help his partner lay out the tactical steps. He didn't spend time reassuring his partner as he went through the transition from a job where he had been very successful to the new responsibilities.
The president had not realized his role as a manager. He was focused on the the mountain on the other side of the valley that was only visible above the fog. He didn't recognize that, as the manager, his responsibility was to help his partner become the best he could be. The tools managers use are coaching, mentoring, and supervising. If he were to assist his partner in laying out the specific responsibilities he had in helping the company achieve the strategic objectives he would help his partner succeed. By spending 30 minutes or so each week with his partner asking questions about how the journey down the mountain was going he would get clear about progress. Asking whether the commitments made last week were accomplished would help determine if he was on track. By doing these things, the the president would be giving the partner the necessary support to succeed.

Even though I could see the tops of the hills above the fog, I would not have any way of making my way from my hill top to the others without a clear plan, a leader who would support me from time to time by holding me accountable, and regular contact. The role of a leader, even a visionary leader, is to provide management for the people who report to him or her. Without that, it is not surprising that even experienced people are reluctant to get off the well-traveled road in the fog to achieve a new objective.