Leadership Lessons-12
It is important to look at the big picture as well as the small picture.
One of the important leadership qualities is the ability to see the big canvas and also work on a big canvas. This means the ability to see the external context of an organization over the immediate time and space. It is the ability to see the horizon and also beyond the horizon.
The big canvas will help to have a broader sense of vision and mission. This will also help those with leadership qualities to sense opportunities and smell the lurking dangers or risks beyond the curve.
There are those who get lost in the details. They look so much in to details that they fail to see the bigger canvas and the larger context beyond time and space. Then there are those who can see the big canvas and the larger context without the ability or patience to see the smaller issues or details of small problems.
They are like architects who can the elevation of a whole big building or the landscape and topography, and may not know a bit of a wrong wiring or a problem in the plumbing or engineering details of a pillar. Even when they can draw a beautiful elevation on the larger canvas with a big picture over a period of time and in the larger space, their inability to see the smaller details can eventually burn the building or make it collapse after sometime.
Because devil often lies in the details. The strength of a big building is as strong as it's weakest pillar. The strength of a long chain is as good as it's weakest links.
Hence all those with higher leadership qualities will be able to see the big pictures of an organization and smaller picture.
There are those who may know the map well and also the direction very well and they can also say which road to take. But they may not see the big potholes just in front of the car. Or they might not have looked in to smaller details like checking the air of the tire which could eventually create a big problem.
Hence those who with good leadership ability should know which is the best road to take and ability to drive and manage a car in difficult terrain.
Once the country director of a big international organization used to report to me. She was excellent in reading the map and seeing the larger picture. Very impressive analysis of the best road to take. A well known academic with so many books and published papers. During the interview we were all impressed with her 'in-depth' analysis. We recruited the person with a PhD and many degrees. But later on there was a problem.
Because she knew the map well and roads as well, but she did not know how to drive the car on the road. In other words she knew the external context of an organization so well though simply could not manage an organization.
Details of finance was Greek to her. She felt details like recruitment policy was big bureaucracy as it did not help to recruiting the favorite people. The person also did not have the time or patience to understand the little problems. Though she did not know how to drive the car when the car hit a tree and destroyed headlights, the analysis was that the car was not good enough for her to drive.
Within the organization the smaller issues became big. Anyone who disagreed with her or questioned her , she would call them 'shallow' or simply ridicule them saying 'they don't simply understand', with her own sense of academic arrogance. With strong likes and dislikes, within few months most of the staff registered complaints. And the financial reporting was in a mess. The organisation was in a total mess.
It was a hard lesson learned. I never repeated the same mistake of recruiting someone like that again.
Don't get impressed with those who can read the map and roads well but who may not be able to know how to drive the car on the road.
But then there are those who can drive well and also can fix any problem, but may not know the road or the map. Such people can take an organization in to wrong direction and you may end up in a dead end. Good leaders will know the map, roads, the car and driving as well..
Those with excellent leadership qualities can see the bigger contexts and smaller pictures with all details. They pay attention to the smaller details, and fix a problem when It is still small enough to fix it before it becomes a wound that can turn in to septic. But they also pay attention to be relevant in the larger context with an ability to adapt fast in the event of contingency.
JS Adoor
To be continued
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