Leading In Uncertain Times

The McKinsey Quarterly recently featured an interview with Carlos Ghosn in which he was asked about leading in the 21st century and decision making under uncertainty. His response included the following extract

It is a paradox: on the one hand, you have to be more confident and secure, but on the other, you have to be a lot more open and empathetic. You need to listen, but then when you make a decision, that’s it—you must be a very hard driver. Usually, these are not attributes you find in the same person.

Once you have done the analysis and made the decision, then you have to learn to simplify the decision in communicating it to others. Everything’s complex, but once you have decided, sometimes you need to simplify so much it’s almost a caricature. You must say, “Nothing matters beyond this.” You must reduce everything to zeros or ones, black or white, go or no-go. You can’t have too much nuance.In a crisis, you have to be able to do all of these things—listening, deciding, and then simplifying—very quickly. That is what makes leading in a crisis so interesting. And because you have to move so fast, you have to empower people to make decisions themselves. That’s the best way to restore calm.

Ghosn refers to a number of leadership characteristics here - decisiveness, listening, communication skills, focus, empowerment - and his reflection that these are not usually attributes you find in the same person is an interesting one. 

Its certainly fair to think that you may not find all of these characteristics as strengths in the same person, or that their personal preferences may not be aligned to each of these ways of leading, but it is possible for any leader to be aware of the mindsets and skillsets that attach to each characteristic and then apply these (to the extent they are able) when the situation requires it. 

FranklinCovey's support for leaders touches on each of these areas 

• to make effective decisions we work on creating a gap between a stimulus and a response and within this gap help leaders understand key issues, evidence, impact and constraints to inform their thinking 
• when communicating, we develop the instinct of 'listening to understand' (rather than listening to respond) and then the ability to provide feedback in a way that balances 'courage' (IQ) with consideration (EQ)
• for people to feel empowered at the front line we help create conditions whereby leaders emphasise the 'what' people need to achieve (rather than telling them the 'how') and we start this process at the top of an organisation by helping a business unit leader narrow their focus and define their goals in compelling terms

and by applying these new ways of thinking and new ways of working leaders have a better chance of delivering the new and different results being asked of them in these uncertain times.