Page 17 - IFV_Issue 3_March_2022
P. 17

Business





           So every time that we make progress
           because we’ve got another thing ‘done’,
           we get lovely brain chemistry, we get
           dopamine hits coming that actually
           create more resilience in our people and
           in our organisations.
             The focus on  ‘done’ also promotes
           a  culture of  experimenting which
           inevitably  leads  to  innovation.  What  I
           like to do with leaders is really encourage
           them to use that concept beyond
           products, think about minimum viable
           policies, minimum viable processes.
           Can we take that same concept and just
           make things able to be released and
           shared and get feedback? And that way,
           we keep moving at speed.
             The second horizontal line on your
           piece of paper gauges are you a
           perfectionist? Are you stopping things                                          PHOTOGRAPH BY GREEN CHAMELEON, UNSPLASH
           being released because in your view
           they aren’t perfect? Mark the second   they’re always being punished.  Australian-Israeli Innovation Summit, a
           line ‘Perfectionist’ and note where you   I work a lot with leadership teams.   question was asked of one of the vice
           think you might be, to identify how far   When you get them behind closed doors,   presidents of Intel in Israel:  What is
           you’re shifting.                  they tell you that they do not enjoy   the secret sauce of Israel’s innovation
                                             being a command and control type of   ecosystem, because they’re amazing,
           SHIFT 3: FROM COMMAND             leader, it exhausts them. Ultimately,   they’re incredible with what they do.
           AND CONTROL TO TRUST AND          it disempowers people and reduces   And she said quite simply,  “We are
           TRANSPARENCY                      autonomy, and if we want to be effective   rewarded to fail. We have a culture of
             Our third shift is the move from   at moving at speed in this disruptive   failure-seeking.  We  fail  fast,  we  learn
           command and control to trust and   environment, we need autonomy. High   fast. Failure equals success, it teaches us
           transparency. And again, I often see   trust and clear accountability create   lessons, it shifts our perspective and it
           command and control given a really bad   conditions for new ideas, new products   gives us courage to experiment.”
           name. We demonise people or leaders   and new services.              One of the ways that leaders really
           who use command and control.       So let’s ask the question, where are   struggle is that they believe we’re asking
             However, I  think  it’s important  to   you on the command and control, trust   them to fail in front of customers. And
           acknowledge that command and      and transparency line? And here’s a fun   they say, “But we can’t fail in front of the
           control served us well, once.  These   little exercise I get my CEOs to do. I get   customers, we will lose our customer
           strategies worked best in highly   them to mark where they are on this   base. We will lose revenue, we will lose
           predictable environments. Leaders   line in terms of command and control,   the confidence of the Board.” But that’s
           were rewarded for their ability to   but then they have to share it with   not what we’re talking about here. The
           command and control. So to get in a   their leadership team and get them to   shift that leaders need to make is to “How
           position now to say it’s the wrong thing   mark where they think their boss is on   do I  encourage failure-seeking within
           to do might be right but may not be   command and control. There can often   my teams, within our organisation?”
           kind and I think we need to think about   be a gap and it’s really worth exploring   This is not an “It’s okay to fail when we’re
           that as we encourage leaders to make   why there is a gap and what we can do   on the outside of the organisation”- it’s
           shifts.                           to get across it.                keeping it internal. To what extent are
             The interesting  thing  is,  when you                            you currently trying to avoid failure and
           talk to employees who are operating in   SHIFT 4: FROM FAILURE-AVERSION   to what extent are you seeking failure?
           a command and control environment,   TO FAILURE-SEEKING            Write down on your page on the fourth
           they will  tell  you that it feels like   Our fourth shift is from failure-  line ‘Failure’ and note where you would
           punishment to them.  They feel like   aversion  to  failure-seeking.  At the   put yourself on that continuum.


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