In this 8th huddle, I will build on the courage element from Huddle #7 with an additional core trait needed for a leader to continually prepare their team for change and help their teammates cope with change. Referencing What Leaders Really Do, by John P. Kotter, @HBR, I’ll zone in on the premise that leaders “don’t make plans; they don’t solve problems; they don’t even organize people. Instead, they prepare organizations for change and help them cope as they struggle through change.”
For me to be future-oriented and expansive in my thinking about the possibilities available for me and my team, I leverage both courage and another key trait: transcendence.
Here is the Leader Trait Framework definition from the Ivey Business School at Western University:
- Transcendence – Has a very expansive view of things in terms of considering the long term and broad factors. Draws inspiration from excellence or appreciation of beauty in areas such as sports, music, arts, and design. Sees possibility where others cannot. Demonstrates a sense of purpose in life.
To clarify this idea of transcendence, I couple it with another concept that @John Kotter reinforced, “Leadership isn’t mystical and mysterious. It has nothing to with having “charisma” or other exotic personality traits.” Transcendence is about being appreciative, future-oriented, inspired, purposeful, optimistic, and creative.
Kotter makes the distinction between Management and Leadership in his article, What Leaders Really Do. Leadership requires transcendence to successfully achieve the three (3) key domains of action for Leaders (in contrast to Managers), from the article:
- Leading an organization to constructive change by setting a direction and developing a vision of the future (often the distant future) along with strategies for producing the changes needed to achieve that vision
- Aligning the people by communicating the new direction to those who can create coalitions that understand the vision and are committed to its achievement
- Motivating and inspiring to keep people moving in the right direction, despite major obstacles to change, by appealing to basic human needs, values, and emotions.
I am only going to focus on the Leadership distinctions from within Kotter’s article. I encourage you to read his full body of work to better understand the difference between Leadership and Management. There is a lot to consider in his writing, particularly since “both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment.”
First, let me address the need to lead with a vision of the future. At Biodesix, we annually re-visit our Mission, Vision, and Company Positioning statements to stress-test them for validity, motivational inspiration, and clarity of purpose. I commit to ensure that our Mission and Vision remain expansive and pertinent to healthcare professionals and the patients they serve and our numerous business stakeholders, but, more importantly, to our Biodesix team members. I also ensure that our Vision remains slightly beyond the realm of immediate possibility so as not to stifle our team from thinking big, taking on audacious goals, and striving to find creative solutions.
The above is not a “one & done” exercise for a Leader. Once the Vision is articulated, I dedicate most of my energy to aligning my organization through a variety of communications channels and other experiences to keep the team motivated, inspired, and all moving in the right direction. My belief is that without a compelling Mission statement, it would be far more difficult to be successful in my role and to enjoy my team’s success.
At Biodesix, we embrace a compelling mission that empowers us to have a direct impact on patient lives – we have a direct impact on their health care and health outcomes through our diagnostic tests and development services. To multiply our impact, we have many team members working directly with life sciences and biopharmaceutical companies and research institutions all to further advance personalized diagnostics.
Ultimately, it is both very fulfilling and rewarding to lead the Biodesix team in this important work, and to witness our impact on healthcare professionals and the patients they serve, as well as our industry partners and collaborators.
I am thankful to my Biodesix colleagues. They are a competitive, committed, fast-learning, fast-adapting, and resilient team. It is because of them that we continue to see success as a small, ultra-competitive life sciences diagnostics player.
In contrast, Kotter claimed that most U.S. corporations are over-managed and under-led. I do not know if that is a true statement about U.S. companies today, however, I do observe that many of us are continually searching for transcendence and searching for the right leaders that we can admire, respect, and aspire to learn from.
In my experience with excellent leaders, transcendence, like courage, does not manifest itself as excessive risk, nor far-fetched dreaming, nor teenager-like obsession with a particular athlete, artist, scientist, or tech mogul. As referenced in Hutton’s Huddle #7, from @Ryan Berman’s Return on Courage, determining your PURPOSE is a key step:
Commit to an authentic and memorable purpose. This higher calling or whole-team cause enables you to have a unique rallying cry and brings inspiration to all teammates.
To close Huddle #8, and further entrench Ryan Berman’s concepts, I leave you with three (3) potential applications to bring Transcendence into your own leadership traits:
1. Commit yourself to an authentic purpose outside of work. What is it that drives you outside of work? What drives you as a human being, outside of your professional responsibilities?
2. Commit your organization to an authentic and memorable purpose. What is the higher calling of your organization? What is the cause that keeps you up at night; makes you willing to commit your energy to something that provides fulfillment? What is your team’s holistic purpose that goes far beyond an individual’s job performance?
Create and publish your Mission, Vision, and Positioning Statement for the organization and re-visit them as necessary to ensure that these pillars stand the test of time.
3. Identify someone or something that strikes you with “extraordinary awe or beauty.” Seek out excellence and beauty from other domains unassociated to your company or the industry in which you work. Take the time to appreciate them for their beauty or excellence and to gain insights for how to live a great life and be a great leader.
About Hutton’s Huddle:
Based on inquiries and requests from my past, present, and future colleagues and business partners, I will be adding my take on successful Leadership strategies and tactics to the LinkedIn community. The objective is to spark meaningful discussion and, in tandem, both share and learn from this community. This series will include written articles, videos, and other media to illustrate Leadership concepts, both in theory and reality. Specific nod to Ivey Business School at Western University for the Leader Character Framework.