True Leadership Alignment Means Not Playing it Safe

The "hashing out" I mentioned in my last entry, step#2 refers to dealing with what is not comfortable or you don't agree with. The thing about change - whether it is reorganizing a function, getting a new supplier or taking on a new client  - is that it requires doing something different. Many times, we want to play it safe or just be "efficient" by repeating the SAME experience. Sometimes there is a balance point between systematizing processes and being open to discovering what is unique and different -or better yet, possible.

With budgets tight, this is necessitating challenging our assumptions or previous experience about what is really required to accomplish a job. It also requires more than ever to have the difficult dialogues across your teams to create synergies - REAL synergies. Sometimes this can be especially hard when you are dealing with teams with a lot of history.

Here is an experiment to try when you are working on revisiting or finalizing your tactics. To get TRUE leadership alignment: just for today - approach your colleague not from the standpoint of what you are going to give UP or dig your heels in on, but instead with what you are going to GIVE and ask questions and try to understand the other's position fully, seeking what is possible.  This is a very simple orientation but it often is not implemented and can reap huge dividends. I'd love to hear how it goes...