by Brett Porter, Send City Missionary
I’ve been reading many reviews of smart watches. I’ve looked at the Apple Watch, Pebble, FitBit, Garmin, etc. I’ve read about prices, make and style, and I’ve tried to determine what each different device does…some do similar things and some are unique.
One of the things I keep running across is the healthy discussion about Apple making things we don’t really need. What I find amusing is that Apple has made it their mission to create things that aren’t essential, but we end up not having a clue how to live without it today. An example is the iPod/mp3 player. Many of us can’t imagine living without one. Carrying around a walkman or discman would be crazy today. The same goes for smart phones & tablets.
I heard a great leadership principle while visiting the Apple headquarters several years ago and was reminded of that thought again today. The principle is to “lead not by consensus, but lead toward the best decision.”
In leadership, often the decision is determined by what the majority thinks and is not driven by what is best for the group (especially when many are initially against the decision). When we lead others based on consensus resulting in less than best decisions, we are not really leading anywhere that matters.
Thoughts on leading toward the best decision and not consensus…
- Listen :: Just because you are not going to lead by consensus, does not mean you don’t listen to others…especially those on your leadership team. Allow for people to speak into the decision. Most likely, you are not the smartest person in the room, so take the advice of others into consideration so you make the best decision.
- Learn :: Take advantage of every next step and spend time learning as much about the options on the table as you can. Assume the posture of a learner. Research, ask others, and dive into other similar decisions you can find to discover what happened and determine the consequences – good and bad – of the decision made.
- Push Back :: Often we make decisions at step one and never consider step two and three to follow. Take time to push back on the options…if we do this, what happens next? What new issues come from making this decision? The trick in this is about sharpening each other in the decision process, not being Negative Nick or Debbie Downer. There is a difference! This will allow you to move forward with boldness and confidence.
- ONE Voice :: After you take the needed time to make the best decision, make sure your team moves forward with one voice. This is not the time to have “side-conversations” about why you don’t like this or that. That time was in the above steps. At this point a good leadership team will move forward with one voice and one movement.
I hope this has spawned some thoughts for you as a leader. Now grab your iPod, turn on some tunes, take your smartphone, computer or tablet and jot down some thoughts about ways to lead your team – not to consensus but towards their best decision.