When It Gets Messy

Leadership is a messy journey. We all read the books that lay out the essential ideals of great leaders and great leadership. I love those books and learn from them. But, so many of our environments lack the conditions to allow great leadership to thrive. Sometimes bureaucracy, poor higher-level leaders, or even toxic followers upend the apple cart and impede progress. Then, as good leaders, we look to pick up the apples and shift course in the right direction, we are challenged with that clean up in the midst of the now, while all the tasks must still be done, the sales made, the lessons prepared, or the presentations given. It is messy.

And it is for this very reason why we need leaders, why we are leaders. We are meant to solve the hard problems amid the mess. Here are three things you should do when the apples scatter and you must clean up a mess:

1.     Take the time to calmly pause. No one wants to do this. We want to dive right in and pick up the mess. The mistake in doing that is that we may not see the fulness or the cause of the mess if we go directly into clean-up mode. And, first reports are almost always wrong. The leader must take some time to determine the extent of the problem, everyone involved in it, and who incurred what pain or injury (literally or figuratively). Yes, of course, you have to have an initial reaction and engagement to do these things, but measure that reaction through both deliberate pause and intentional observation and analysis. This step doesn’t have to be days or weeks on end, and you must be sensitive to the type of issue that occurred. But unless you’re saving someone from literal injury, you need to be calm and in control, even if inside of you is raging or anxious.

2.     Own your role in the mess. Human nature always directs us to the downfalls of others. But when a mess happens on your team, you must assess your role in it. Leadership requires personal accountability on owning your team. Most of the time, there is something that you did or didn’t do that contributed in some way, even if small. You must own and acknowledge that as you work through the clean-up. Doing so builds trust and camaraderie with your team and helps them believe you’ll handle the situation appropriately.

3.     React appropriately with each team member. Leading doesn’t happen in a “one size fits all” model. Many have tried that, and most that have, fail. “Fairness” is giving to each what they need. Remember this as you work through the issues with different teammates. Understanding your team, before problems happen, will make this step easier. If you wait until a crisis to try and figure this out, you won’t be able to do it well. Leadership engages humans in real purpose and problems; therefore, it must be personal.

Leadership is messy! Leadership is hard! But you can do it well the better you know and engage your team BEFORE the problems happen. Know yourself, know your team.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________