When I first learned to fly, it was always in great conditions. Clear and sunny skies, no turbulence and very little traffic, with my instructor handling all radio communications. This helped me gain confidence, learn to trust my instincts and develop a real feel for piloting the aircraft. I was perfectly comfortable “flying by the seat of my pants” without a system or procedure.
"The more precise and clear our corporate language becomes, the easier and less complex work is." - Walt Brown
I had the good fortune recently of taking a river cruise in Germany. We began on the Moselle River. We ended on the Rhine, to which the Moselle is a tributary. As you sail your way from Trier to Koblenz you are surrounded by wine vineyards on the hillsides of the river. Great riesling wines come from these vineyards—particularly well known are those from the Alsace region.
If you don’t answer this common leader question properly, as your business grows in number of customers, employees, vendors and initiatives, you will experience a scalability problem. You will find yourself spending a disproportionate amount of your time in meetings and your frustration will grow as you realize you can’t effectively communicate with everyone. It’s not physically possible.
Members of healthy leadership teams are engaged, committed, and accountable for achieving the collective results of the organization. When I’m conducting a session with a room full of those people, it’s an energizing, productive and rewarding experience. When even one member of the team isn’t properly engaged, it‘s often a long, painful, unproductive day.
