Marcia's Leadership Q and As: Hire a Strategic Advisor to Assess Your Organization
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Q. Since you’ve been consulting with Boards and executive teams for decades, what are a few key gems you’ve learned from your clients?
A. This is a beautiful, reflective question. One company president in Hawaii pointed out the power of “anticipate.” Every leader needs to scan their environment, industry, and society and frequently assess what’s happening and what could happen. My client at PBS told his team who believed “we can’t do it” that if they had a need, they should do their research, create a plan, and make a proposal to do it. He was open to any innovative ideas that had a sound plan that they could implement together.
Another CEO showed that he was not above answering his own phone—no gatekeepers, no screening. He was open to possibilities. Many times, he’d say “No thank you to sales pitches.” But there were times, he’d schedule an appointment to hear more, or he’d engage with a job seeker and soon they’d be a new employee. In summary, great leaders are open to and create possibilities.
Q. Data science has become big business. On reflection, I simply want to know how to measure success?
A. There’s a purpose for data science and analysis. First, it starts with the questions you want to answer. It’s significant to look at data over time to learn about the process, the trends, and what you can learn to make better decisions. The analysis is essential in specific industries and functions: science, medicine, engineering, etc.
To run a business, there’s a far smaller need to chase and chart an overwhelming amount of data. When management does that, they often get mired down in complexity. They miss the vision and opportunities they need to assess and make a reality.
A simple, but most powerful measure of success is quality in everything you do. Both qualitative and quantitative measures are essential. Leaders start with the customer (internal and external.) What’s the voice of the customer? Step back and ask, “if I am a customer of our products and services, what are the most important expectations we need to meet?” What is the definition of quality for the customer: products and service, speed, responsiveness, support, problem resolution, communication and clarity, our brand and reputation?
Quality of relationships, trust, transparency (in actions, not words), and the flow of work and information is the foundation. Improve, innovate, and have a sustainable workplace that delivers great quality is fundamental to serving customers.
It is rare that leaders can hold up a mirror and really understand how well their organization is doing, and what it needs to do to be better or competitive. Just as you go to your doctor for your annual physical or take your car in on its maintenance schedule, great leaders ask someone from the outside to assess and scan their organization. What can an outsider so easily see that a management team cannot see? Get an annual checkup and be open to hearing about the barriers to faster success.
