I've been watching a long story unravel over time, and in many ways it has been a story of one bad choice after another. There is a domino effect that occurs with bad leadership, and when people don't stop to clean things up, the mess becomes greater, more complex, and more difficult to resolve.
Poor leadership ignores the essential ingredients of good leadership, and over time this becomes very, very messy. What are the ingredients of good leadership in any sphere and how can you pay attention to those ingredients in ways that matter.
Accuracy with finances
In organizations, families, and groups of any kind, financial accuracy is integral. When an organization makes a mess of the books, that's a sign that they are having troubles and those troubles will grow. Financial problems occur when people cheat and/or they don't make the time to do the sometimes dull work of keeping the financial house in order. It's vital to keep the finances as simple, straightforward, honest, and accurate as possible.
Data collection and analysis
Too often organizations that fail rely on hearsay versus honest, accurate data collection and analysis. You have to know what's really going on and rely on good data. When organizations start to lose their strength they begin to skew data in ways that support errant notions and ideas rather than the reality of what is happening. Instead organizations of any kind have to collect good data and make the time to realistically and rightly summarize, analyze, and share the findings.
Priorities
Groups of any kind that fail don't have a good system of prioritizing. Often priorities in these groups are out of whack.
Ambition over mission
Errant organizations often are run by leaders who are more concerned with their own ambition than the success or mission of the entire organization including the people who work there and the people they serve.
Misguided vision
When organizations don't have a clear vision shared by most, if not all, involved, they'll often find themselves following disastrous paths.
As I think of organizations that fail, I can clearly see the role of too much greed, pride, ambition, and neglect when it comes to the more mundane aspects of leadership. The truth is that groups and organizations of any size can succeed if they do the following:
- Choose experienced, honest leaders who put mission ahead of personal ambition.
- Hire people who will do the dedicated good work of making sure the essential details of the organization are in order.
- Value all constituents--organizations that fail tend to use or abuse some members of the organization rather than work to uplift and include all involved.
- Work with honesty--be transparent about the organizations' goals and efforts.
- Prioritize about what's most important in honest ways with all stakeholders.
- Understand the investments made and honor those investments.
- Use time wisely. Errant organizations often misuse the time and capacity they have.
- Rather than bury errors, be transparent about errors and work to remedy the situation.