Shockproof: How to Hardwire Your Business for Lasting Success

Chapter 7. Be the Leader You Seek

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

—Peter F. Drucker

Only Leaders Can Align

If aligning strategy, organization, and talent will deliver lasting results, then it makes sense to get on with the job of figuring out how to best link them together, right? Finalize a well-thought-through strategy, design an organization that supports the realization of that strategy, and fill out the structure with the very best people. Done. Finis. Run the credits.

There's only one problem: Nothing remains the same.

Changing business conditions creep up unexpectedly, just like new opportunities peek enticingly around the corner. It doesn't matter whether these changes make you sweat or swoon. When change occurs, even the tightest connections among strategy, organization, and talent may bend or break. It becomes the role of leaders to take action to ensure effective recalibration.

When leaders see what has come undone and then act to create or sustain the linkages, Shockproof leadership is in play. Only leaders can align strategy, organization, and talent. Understandably, some leaders end up sitting on the sidelines, feeling overwhelmed by change and complexity, wishing someone else would put the linkages back in place. Fortunately, most leaders recognize the special role they play in influencing and intervening to ensure everyone pulls together toward shared goals and meaningful results.

Polish Your Lenses

The starting point for leaders to ...