Phil Geldart - The Leaders Triad: The Power of Clarity, Team and the Individual

BY PHIL GELDART

Copyright 2014

Eagles Flight, Creative Training Excellence Inc.

eISBN 978-0-9685677-9-1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of Eagles Flight, Creative Training Excellence Inc.

Printed in Canada

To the Leadership Team at
Eagles Flight who themselves
model the Leaders Triad daily.

Some trust in chariots, and some in
horses, but we trust in the name of
the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:7

Ive always felt the power of the Leaders Triad lies in its apparent simplicity. Taken at face value it clearly points to the three aspects of leadership so critical to success.

Yet, on the other hand, the depth of insight buried in these three simple phrases can provide considerable help with the day to day challenges we face as leaders.

I originally created the Triad to provide very senior and very skilled executives with a simple way to ensure they could always be as brilliant in their people management as they were in the other business areas of finance, sales, operations, etc. It worked very well to that end, but also became equally useful to those much earlier in their career. The impact any tool can have is clearly as much a function of the user as the tool itself.

As we strive to lead others well, in an increasingly complex world, I trust youll find the Leaders Triad a valuable way to harness the energy, talent and motivation that resides in all those looking to us for that level of leadership excellence.

A word about From Phils Journal

Ive added some pages from my personal journal at the end of each Triad section. While they can stand alone as learning nuggets, Ive linked each of them to an aspect of the Triad. My hope in doing so is that youll find them useful as a way to make applying the principles of the Triad even more practical, and on a daily basis.

Enjoy the journey!

The Leaders Triad is a powerful model, as it serves as a guide to every leader in two very important aspects of leadership:

Planning for Success: Before setting any initiative in motion it provides guidance on how to optimize the chance of success.

Readjusting when Required: Once an initiative is under way, but not proceeding as planned, it helps to diagnose the source of the problem.

The Power of Clarity This refers to the messages you send, or directions you give, and the way in which they are understood by others.

The Power of Team This reflects the fact that all things are accomplished by groups who must work together.

The Power of the Individual One person can make a massive difference, and this refers to the impact of harnessing that potential effectively.

Clarity means, I fully understand what you really mean.

It includes both hearing the words, and understanding their meaning. It also includes other less obvious things:

Intention: What did you have in mind, that maybe wasnt expressed.

Urgency: The degree to which I should adjust my priorities based on your words.

Context: How I should interpret your words given the current and foreseen Future.

Initiative: Your expectation of how much initiative I should take.

Outcome: How fully I understand your expected outcome.

Accountability: The extent to which Im solely responsible for the outcome.

As leaders we often make the assumption that people just get all these implications when we speak. The more familiar we are with the person (maybe weve worked together for several years) the more we assume they just know what we mean, and there seems little need to often focus on clarity after all, Its obvious, isnt it?

That which is clear to you is very probably not as clear to others, even after you tell them.

I may be very willing to do what is expected, and in fact be highly motivated to deliver what Ive been asked to do. Sooff I go! However, if my understanding isnt absolutely correct, then while all that effort and energy will produce results, they wont be the results expected, or all of which Im capable.

When this happens, as leaders we often assume its because the person on the task is less competent than wed like, or less competent than others on our team. In my experience this is not necessarily the case. It could as readily be that they just lacked absolute clarity on what was expected. That makes the less than stellar results our fault!

How is this possible? How can intelligent, smart employees, not be clear on what Im requesting? Surely being clear is not that big of a deal!

I think it is.

I think its very, very hard to be really clear. Firstly, I myself have to know exactly what I mean. Secondly, I need first rate communication skills. Thirdly, I need to speak in terms of outcomes, not activities.

When we communicate mandates, tasks, goals, accountabilities or projects, we often dont fully understand all the implications ourselves, or were rushed, or were figuring it out as we go. These are all understandable, but they certainly dont help with clarity. Simply assuming the other person will know what we mean doesnt guarantee they actually will.

Without providing really great clarity, Im dooming the other person to most likely being able to deliver only a middle of the road result; while simultaneously were all engaged in a wishful thinking exercise that the outcome will be brilliant. It probably wont be, but not because the person cant be brilliant, but because they dont know what brilliant really looks like in my eyes.

Can anybody really be that clear?

Absolutely, but it isnt always easy.

I dont think the issue is that everyone needs to sign up for more communication training. Rather, I think the issue is much more that we all need to appreciate the power of providing great clarity, and then taking the time to deliver that. That is really great leadership.

This time required falls into two areas.

Firstly, the time we spend upfront to think about what were about to say.

How clearly do we understand our soon-to-be-delivered message?

How well do we understand the implications?

And where are the areas we could be misunderstood, or not understood at all?

Secondly, adequate time to deliver the message effectively. This must include:

Time to ask for questions or feedback

Time to provide more information than just the what, like relative urgency, context, accountability, and a very clear picture of the outcome

Often when I train leaders people say, Thats going to take more time. True. Great leadership means truly capitalizing on the potential of every employee, and to do so will usually take a few minutes longer. But the results are very much better. Plus, if there isnt clarity at the outset, it will take much longer later to deal with the results of a person committed to delivering on something that wasnt targeted to your exact expectations, right from the beginning.