While going to shop for groceries, we of VIM Executive Coaching (yes, we eat too!) were walking in the parking lot behind the loading dock of a so called “Big Box Store.” On the loading dock that day, was a shrink-wrapped pallet with several boxes marked: “Dated Material. Hold for Halloween ‘XYZ’ Promotion.” We might add that we were in short-sleeved shirts and shorts, as it was mid-August, with the promise of a 96-degree day.
We turned to each other and wondered, “Why not get it over with and start the Winter Wonderland Christmas music?”
Nevertheless, and we have had numerous retail clients, who routinely launch national or even regional promotion, so we know such work requires extensive planning, shipping and implementation. It cannot be haphazard nor effectively done in haste. In fact, it requires moment-to-moment mindfulness within the plan and the ability to quickly adjust to change,
Acceleration versus Mindfulness
The above observation is also offering an interesting side-note of effective versus ineffective executive leadership.
The Halloween promotional materials were undoubtedly delivered exactly on-time or allowed enough time for variation to the plan. They Halloween materials were probably held for a week to 10-days and then a plan was implemented for stocking in the seasonal aisle. They weren’t accelerating, they were conforming to a calculated promotional timeline.
However, “acceleration” when applied to executive leadership is not necessarily a good look. For there have been many executive leaders we’ve known who, in a haphazard rush (and we are certain you have known some) have embraced a policy of “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,” or “You don’t need to know that it’s months away,” or most rudely, “You stay in your lane and let me worry about that other stuff in the future.”
When discussion or conversation or planning is shut down by an executive leader who indicates a full knowledge of the future, or who closes off input or believes in their absolute ability to predict a point or trend or outcome, everyone loses.
Subordinates want to be part of decision-making processes, not to be told they are there to follow pre-arranged guidelines often made by executives who envision the outcome without understanding the effort required.
Far better in approach is mindfulness. Being mindful is not an admission of imperfection, it is being authentic enough to know what is not known and to allow for the possibility that subordinates may have a better solution or minimally, want a say in the process.
A strong executive leader is not intimated by concerns or questions but welcomes other viewpoints.
True, the executive leader, can put off planning or decide to go it alone or to shut down additional input even when such is warranted. However, the net result is often an inability to adjust, an inability to concede there may be problems or moderating circumstances.
No one can boast complete information and yet numerous accounts exist of executives charging ahead without regard to input and then a massive failure in the end. Painfully, the failures are often blamed on others. This dynamic is precisely why so many employees have walked off jobs in the past few years.
Several years ago (a true story) a mid-sized company wanted to roll out a national grocery promotion to tie-in with a movie. They spent tens of thousands on displays – and they were great displays. However, the executive leader refused (against subordinate input) to get a merchandising company to assemble the display and put it out in time for the movie’s release. As a result, hundreds of displays never left to stockrooms.
Blame went around everywhere to everyone, but not surprisingly, the executive leader deflected all of it. The leader was the opposite of mindful and just wanted to push something ahead because they were assured “oh, someone in the store would set it up. Never happened.
What is instructive about the lyrics of Winter Wonderland in this context is the fact that the “facing unafraid the plans that we’ve made,” is a discussion not so much about love but mindfulness.
The mindful executive seeks counsel, support and input. In relationships of any kind, such mindfulness is a powerful, in-the moment, force.