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Leadership is in the details (or is it?)
by Leroy McCarty
Raise your hand if you have ever worked for a leader whose lack of knowledge about the business created great pains for your organization. Quite a few I see (or at least imagine since I can not see you). You can put your hands down.
Raise your hand if you have ever worked for a leader whose abundance of knowledge about the business created great pains for your organization. Again, I imagine quite a few. You can put your hands down.
Leaders clearly must understand a great deal about the company and industry as a whole. It is this knowledge that enables them to understand the business landscape and communicate a clear vision, mission, and objectives.
Business processes and technologies are another story. I trust we all agree a certain level of knowledge about the down-and-dirty details of how the organization works is necessary, but what level of detail? What is the optimal base of knowledge for effective leadership?
To answer this question I have categorized knowledge into two buckets - strategic and technical.
Strategic knowledge is that of the industry, the company, and business units. It is understanding evolving trends, emerging technologies, business principles, organizational roles and responsibilities, organizational culture, corporate and business unit visions, missions, and objectives, and how to lead, manage, and motivate people among other things.
Technical knowledge is that of particular business processes and technologies. It is understanding each step of the process, how that step is executed, what systems and screens are used, what details are included on those screens, and what logic the system uses in support of that step among other things.
Leaders exist throughout an organization and how much and what type of knowledge you need to be an effective leader depends on your role.
Senior leaders must have an abundance of strategic knowledge. It is this knowledge that enables them to lead. Senior leaders with little strategic knowledge often find their organization wandering aimlessly looking for direction.
On the other hand, senior leaders only need a low level of technical knowledge. They need to understand enough to provide direction and set reasonable expectations.
But beware, senior leaders with too little technical knowledge often lack the confidence and respect of their employees. They make their organization's life complicated by over committing what can be done and by when. They misrepresent or undersell (or worse oversell) their organization. Employees spend most of their time doing unnecessary work trying to meet unreasonable demands.
The other end of the continuum can be just as dangerous. Senior leaders with too much technical knowledge can get in the way. They degrade the value of their experts by interjecting their opinion too much. They micromanage to the point employees become robots and do not feel empowered to manage their part of the business.
Mid-level leaders need a moderate level of both strategic and technical knowledge. They must be strategic enough to provide direction at lower levels of the organization and technical enough to manage production, manage employee performance, and determine training needs.
Low-level leaders (or technicians) do the real work. They must have an abundance of technical knowledge. They are whom everyone will rely on to keep the engine running. They need just enough strategic knowledge to keep focused and to create and implement new ideas that drive the business processes and technologies in the right direction.
|
|
Strategic Knowledge |
Technical Knowledge |
|
Senior Leader |
High |
Low |
|
Mid-Level Leader |
Moderate |
Moderate |
|
Technicians |
Low |
High |
So what do you do if you are a senior leader with too little or too much technical knowledge?
If you know too little, learn from those that really know. Start with your managers and have them walk you through the business processes and technologies. Once you understand the basics, sit with employees who actually do the work. Watch for awhile and then work for a while. Get hands on experience. Yes you are exposing yourself to the details, but you will not remember what the screen names and fields were down the road. What you will understand is the basic functionality, enough to enable effective leadership.
If you already know the details, do not try to unlearn. Just be aware and make sure that you are not getting in the way. Let your managers and technicians do their job. You set the direction, let them develop and administer the details. Make sure they know you need and trust their experience.
Knowledge of the details for a leader is a wonderful thing so long as it is knowledge of the right stuff and at the right level and used in the right way.
2005 © art-of-leadership.com All rights reserved.
| About The Author Leroy McCarty is a student, teacher, and freelance writer on the topic of leadership living in Overland Park, Kansas. He can be reached at mccartyleroy@aol.com |
source www.articlecity.com
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