There’s no excuse for a leader not sharing clear objectives with their team, unless the leader doesn’t trust their team or doesn’t know where they’re going.
There are 2 ways of helping a team achieve an objective. Have them follow your directions all the way, or share the objective and support them in finding their own way.
If you want a team who just follows you, clear objectives aren’t necessary. Some leaders prefer this style. These teams just have to know how to follow directions. Like baby geese following their mother.
Some leaders have a tendency to “go with their gut”, and make frequent unplanned changes.
This is ok if tactics are changed, but damaging if objectives are changed quickly and frequently.
No serious leader should ever dismiss the use of instinct or gut feeling as a guide to decisions. Everything can’t be planned ahead, and new circumstances have to be reacted to.
Your mind is incredibly complex, and our conscious rational thoughts only play a minor role in day to day activity.
There is also an important role for chance or luck in creating success. “Stuff happens” in day to day life by chance or luck, and that same luck can bring success, or lead to failure. A series of lucky decisions can make you believe you have good instincts, or bad luck can cause you to lose confidence…
The downside of not having clear, shared objectives is that the leader can too easily change them. It’s actually a moral hazard for the leader who is under pressure to quietly shift the targets.
The dilemma is that teams don’t develop independence when instinct or flexibility is encouraged but clear objectives aren’t.
As leaders we have to develop our “baby geese” into adults who can fly on their own. Followers won’t learn to fly…
When instinctive decisions are combined with “do what I say”, chaos and confusion can ensue in the team. This is especially true in large complex organizations where team members have to deal with many conflicting priorities, not just their boss’s latest directions.
Good leaders can force a decision – “let’s go this way!” – but remain eyes open as to whether it’s the right direction or not.
Good leaders also understand that their view of the team’s work is just one view, and sudden changes are difficult to achieve without compromising other objectives that are less visible to the leader.
“Teams don’t develop independence when instinct or flexibility is encouraged but clear objectives aren’t…”
Good leaders spend a lot of their time establishing and communicating objectives. They frequently check that their teams know where they’re going.
Good leaders don’t change the goal posts, they change the way they kick..
Good leaders check themselves before they force a sudden change of direction.
Am I really sure this is right?
If you trust your instincts and won’t allow for the possibility that they’re wrong you had better be very knowledgeable about the topic.
Will this sudden change help your team achieve the original goal? Or are you changing the objective?
Your team won’t become “adults” until you start teaching them to achieve shared objectives, rather than just how to follow you.
Does your team have clear objectives? If not, is it because they’re not ready for them, or because you don’t have clear objectives either?
