Wanted: Disruptive Leaders
To be an effective leader you need to challenge everything about the way you do business today. This doesn't mean you run rampant around the building looking for fights to pick or people to question on their methods. It does mean that you cannot blindly accept things the way they are; not even the things that built the business to where it is today.
If you're looking for management tips on making positive changes consider challenging direction, disrupting the status quo and a willingness to modify your own thinking.
Challenge Direction
It may seem presumptuous to suggest changing business direction from the things that worked in the past, but sometimes that is precisely what's required.
Think back to the dynamic prosperity of the 1990s. The big impacts didn’t come from established industry players. Innovators stepped in to change the way we do things and enjoyed tremendous success. Disruptors like Steve Jobs at Apple with the iPOD, Sergei Brin and Larry Page at Google, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg changed the way we do things. Retail innovators like Amazon and Starbucks grew quickly because they offered a unique twist on the way we used to do things.
You may not be able to make impacts like these men, but there are things that need disrupting in every business.
Growing businesses need to change their key focus areas as they grow. Young, entrepreneurial companies put their focus on sales and creating new customers. As they grow they typically need to shift some of their focus from sales to quality control. In the beginning everyone knew how to do everything, but as you grow and hire new people they need to be trained and given guidelines and processes to follow. These companies need leaders to disrupt things and force these changes because what got you to one million won’t get you to 10 million. Continued growth requires a change in focus.
Established businesses operate in cycles between new business development and cost control. While both are always a priority in concept, the reality is that focus swings back and forth between the two. There is nothing wrong with this; in fact it’s a healthy way to grow. The key again is strong leaders and managers willing to challenge the current direction when required.
Disrupt the Status Quo
Forget the fairy tale idea that when you come up with a new idea everyone will see the value of it and nod their agreement. Effective leaders don't get 100% agreement, or even 50% or 30% agreement at the start of most changes. Disrupting the status quo means you will start out with more people against you than with you. That's okay. If you believe in your plan then start out by focusing on convincing the critical people who can help you of its merits. Then dig in your heels for a long campaign.
Disrupting the status quo is easy to say, but it can take months or years to effect real change. People like the status quo; it's easy and comfortable, especially to those who are only there to collect their pay checks. Change makes people nervous, but it's necessary. If it as easy, everyone would be doing it. Effective leaders must be tenacious believers.
Modify Your Thinking
Effective leaders spend much of their waking hours thinking of transformational ideas. They refuse merely to improve on the status quo, but seek to change it.
To be a disruptive leader you need to actively look for areas to change. You need to present your ideas and be willing to drop the ones that don’t make sense, and modify the ones that do.
Most importantly, you need to be willing to listen and modify your own thinking. You don't have all the answers any more than the manager before you. If you are going to be a disrupter, you also need to be flexible. Change is a process not an event. It takes time, modification, and rarely turns out the way you first envision it. If you are willing to start the process, and modify it along the way with the ideas of the people around you then effective, disruptive change is within your grasp.
Summary
Challenging direction, disrupting the status quo, and a willingness to modify your own thinking are the marks of effective leaders. Disruptive managers with the vision, passion, and courage to tackle the most difficult problems are what insightful leaders are looking for. They are the best way to get and keep businesses on the growth track.
About the Author: Daryl Cowie has shared management tips with 1000s of people in over 30 countries around the world. His mission is to help you and your company turn business opportunities into business realities. Sign up for his free business management home study course at http://FreeManagementTips.com
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