So with a little more than two months of solid planning time remaining, I found myself considering the impact leadership style has on the way we plan. Does one style vs another create a better outcome? What would your team say about the impact your style has on the annual planning process?
HBDI Quadrants
Just to give full disclosure, I want you to know that I am certified to administer a number of assessments that help individuals and teams explore leadership and work style preferences. I enjoy exploring possibilities with clients through the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI). The HBDI Strategic Issues Model is depicted below.
I love the HBDI for the journey of personal discovery it allows each participant to explore. The HBDI profile provides in-depth information about an individual’s preferred way of thinking and acting, as well as how to effectively and productively integrate the preferred style with the styles of others, in order to achieve the greatest positive impact.
I’m thinking about style because we cannot overlook the fact that the leader’s preferred work and thinking styles influence the strategic planning process, just as much as they do all our other business activities. Ned Herrmann, creator of the HBDI, wrote in his book, The Creative Brain: "In the corporation of the future, new leaders will not be masters, but maestros. The leadership task will be to anticipate the signs of coming change, to inspire creativity, and to get the best ideas from everybody." Isn’t this so true for today? Based on this quote, perhaps my question should be: “Does your style have you acting as a master or a maestro?”
Leaders planning for 2012 need to tap into the creative energies of all of their employees. As the model illustrates, there are four basic quadrants that summarize how their preferences, and the preferences of their planning team, could influence the planning process. Writing in very general terms, the Quadrant A leader most likely will approach strategic planning from an analytical, logical, fact-based manner. The Quadrant B leader has many similarities to the A leader, but B has a strong desire to understand how things worked in the past and how the organization got to where it is, in order for action to be planned and executed. A B leader may have little patience for the intellectual information Leader A is interested in.
On the other hand, a Quadrant C leader will probably view the process through a lens of sensitivity and desire to involve as many stakeholders as possible. This leader is very aware of moods, attitudes and energy levels. The C leader is very tuned in to the human side of business. And as much as the C leader is excited by the human dynamics of growth and change, the D leader is excited by new ideas, possibilities, variety, and questions. In fact, the D leader needs to be mindful of a tendency to speak in metaphors that may be difficult for other quadrant styles to understand.
Utilizing the HBDI process to imagine how each leader might influence the strategic plan and the process for developing it, you can begin to see that the most creative and innovative plans will be realized by those organizations engaging a variety of thinking styles: A, B, C, and D preferences.
So to answer the question, “Is there a preferred style of leadership for planning?” I would respond – “Yes! The leadership style should be focused on broad participation from a diverse group of individuals interested in the future.” The benefit to this approach will be not missing the three other styles that offer different perspectives, ideas, questions, and opportunities to make the process richer and more robust. An additional benefit of a collaborative process is the buy-in developed during the process.
So What’s Next?
Economists report that 2012 will continue to reflect the types of challenges we have experienced over the past few years. The more creative and innovative an organization can be dealing with uncertainty, risk and changing times, the better. Along with the diverse thinking of a Strategic Planning Team, an excellent model for strategic planning involves the following steps:
- Get Real – Collect and analyze appropriate data about the past 12 months. Where is your organization or business today? It might be helpful to utilize tools such as a SWOT, or conduct an analysis of your competition.
- Envision the Future – Use creative meeting exercises to help the team get out of the box of “getting real” to a more playful, open and future-oriented vision of what could be. If there were no constraints, what should the organization be doing?
- Conduct an Environmental Scan – In the profession of Organization Development (OD) an environmental scan refers to content analysis of market, industry, clients, competitors, etc. This step usually involves reviewing appropriate briefings, presentations, reports, research etc. to identify and highlight key, repeated words, phrases, and ideas. These elements are then used to identify themes that illustrate the possibilities for the business in the future.
- Play with Scenarios – Utilizing the data, themes, opportunities, risks, etc. identified in the first three steps, play out the “What If” scenarios of each, answering the questions, “So What?” “Now What?” “Then What?”
- Develop Feasible Options – Based on the data, activities and imaginations, hone in on the strategic options the organization should focus on, and then verify the reasonableness of those options by inviting a population of stakeholders to participate in focus meetings.
- Articulate the Strategies, Goals and Metrics – Write, communicate and reference the Plan in a way that makes sense to everyone. Everyone should know how their job tasks contribute to the Plan, and where the organization stands relative to the goals and metrics on a continuous basis.
- Be Attentive, Flexible and Willing to Change – Everyday business is time consuming; I guess that’s why they call it work. Don’t get so caught up in the “work” that you forget to keep your eye on the horizon. You need to stand ready to lead a remapping session as the realities of the journey to your destination become clearer.
I understand the investment of associates being pulled away from productivity. And if that’s your style or operational dilemma, then perhaps it’s best not to label the team coming together as strategic planning, but instead for providing feedback on your plan. Don’t set the expectation that you want input and ideas about how to make next year better, when all you may want is a blessing on your vision.
I see something as important as strategic planning for my business, as well as my clients, as too important to be attempted in a vacuum. Find some creative way to gather your stakeholders that are knowledgeable, creative, logical, curious, passionate, and compassionate. Be sure as you encourage exploration, analysis and innovation that you are keeping a watchful eye on your style as you orchestrate the symphony of synergy. Leaders with strong styles that have a tendency to quiet the voices of different thinking styles may consider engaging an outside facilitator tasked to keep the process open, moving, reasonable and fun.
So what are your thoughts on the idea of Strategic Planning as a Master or a Maestro?
Please share your comments below.
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