Go First: Be The Leader You Are Waiting For

Bob & Lyn Turknett

January 21, 2009

Question: What's the best way to get my ideas listened to?  As a mid-level manager I don't feel like I carry a lot of weight in the decision-making. Even though I am closer to the customers and sometimes bring up good ideas in meetings, they don't get implemented.  When I see a problem and I know it is solvable, but nothing gets done, it's frustrating.

Lyn's Answer: Melanie, kudos for showing the initiative to offer solutions. In business today everyone needs to have a sense of ownership. That means instead of asking "why don't they do something," you say, "what can I do?" First you need to consider if there are there any parts of the solution you could implement on your own. If so, just do it! In a company, though, getting most ideas implemented requires buy-in and commitment from others, and you also need to take the initiative to make that happen. You may want to clarify your idea and move the approval process along by writing a business case that describes your projected outcomes - will your idea improve a process? Get something done faster? Drive more sales? Improve customer service? What's the likely impact on the bottom line? This quote from tennis Hall-of-Famer and international human rights advocate Arthur Ashe sums it up: "To achieve greatness, start where you are, use what you have, do what you can."

Bob's Answer: CEOs I coach tell me they would like their managers to be more accountable - to step up and take responsibility without being told what to do every step of the way. Everyone needs to take initiative for finding solutions and also for influencing the others who are needed to implement them. That may not fit with your perception, Melanie, but in a competitive environment everyone has to be on-board for the enterprise to be successful - and, you CAN develop the skills necessary for influencing others to buy in to your good ideas.

We saw a great example of this with a grocery chain, at one of their small stores. Every assistant manager in this company has to do a project, and in this store the assistant manager decided to initiate a customer service project. Well, only two weeks later he was promoted out of the store. Mary - although she was not a manager and it was not her job - decided the program was good for the employees and good for the store and figured out how to continue it. The store began getting rave customer reviews. Clerks, who were involved in trying to figure out how to improve service, began coming in on Saturdays to provide backup when someone was sick - to everyone's surprise sales increased by an astounding $47,000 per week! Most impressive, though, was what we heard from the store manager. He said, "I used to worry when I left the store. Now when I leave, I have fifteen or twenty people who have my interest and the store's interest at heart." Because Mary stepped up, together they created a culture of character and a company of owners.

Lyn: Sometimes we think of leadership as a position, or a title, like CEO or CFO. But leadership is a choice - it can come from anywhere, and anyone can lead. Leadership requires a high level of character - a willingness to own your strengths and also admit and grow in the areas where you lack character. The good news is that leadership character is something you can develop. Leadership is about rolling up your sleeves and taking the initiative to make things happen. How you do it is also important. Responsibility has to be balanced with respect for others. So you consider how your idea fits with other priorities; you communicate well upward and downward; incorporate feedback; and notice when you lead whether others are able to follow. Going first means taking the risk to lead the way - and it starts by looking inward.

Bob: Oddly enough, one of the toughest obstacles can be giving up the drive to win, especially when that implies controlling others. Leadership in the truest sense is getting things done by influencing and persuading others. Put simply, leaders of the past knew how to tell. Leaders of the future know how to ask. Your top priority is not winning, but the effective engagement of other people: those on your team, and also those higher up! It won't work to see your way as the only way. If you're the leader and people don't buy into your vision, you, not they, must make adjustments if you want to succeed.

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Turknett Leadership Group has guided executives from Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial firms to successful answers for over two decades. If you have a question about the best way to lead your organization or develop your own skills as a leader, send a confidential e-mail to: Answers@turknett.com.

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