Management Perspectives

MYTH 1: Leaders are problem-solvers

Problem-solving does not make anyone successful. Success is defined by the solutions found and executed. All businesses face a myriad of problems that, like mosquitoes, suck blood and energy from them. Having problems is normal unless they turn into deadly challenges. In personal or business life, we hear people talk about problems. Many people proudly declare on their social media profiles and CVs that they are ‘problem-solvers’. However, talking about problems only causes more problems. If your mindset is attuned to finding problems, you will find many more of them. If your mindset is attuned to finding solutions, you will find many brilliant solutions. We have enough problem-solvers; we need more solution-finders. The main challenge for today’s businesses is the lack of vision that reflects long-term solutions for others. Great leaders talk about solutions. When your goals are greater than your problems, you change your mindset to achieve them. When you don't have great goals, your problems determine your way of thinking. Without a strong vision for the future, many leaders are focusing on problems, not solutions. They think about problems only and not about the future, lacking a strong and compelling vision and the ability to tap into the future with confidence. To win in the marketplace, your vision must be greater than your problems.

MYTH 2: Tight control is a must

In fishing, one of the most common and unforgivable mistakes is having the drag set too tight which leads to the loss of a fish. Too much tightness does not allow real control over a fish but turns it into a bullfight in which the weakest link snaps in the blink of an eye. Nothing can withstand overwhelming pressure. Even metal breaks into pieces under enough stress. Engineers try to account for this and leave enough flexibility in the material. Humans are the same. Overwhelming pressure results in stress that leaves cracks in minds and souls. We are all covered with these invisible scars. There is no space for improvement and growth when you do not have flexibility. Bad leaders of command-and-control style set their drag systems too tight. They leave people with the cracks of stress all the time and lose them in the end, even the strongest ones. Too much pressure and stress makes people look for an exit. When under stress, we even tend to blame ourselves for not being strong enough to withstand pressure, forgetting that we all have limits. Give yourself tolerance at the margins. As a leader, give your people even greater tolerance at the margins. We are only human. Good leaders always allow margins for flexibility considering that humans are not made of steel and deserve such gaps of tolerance.

MYTH 3: Complexity reflects leadership greatness

I have learned a great lesson from fishing. Learning how to tie strong knots is a fishing basic. Mastery is in how to tie fewer knots. Simplicity means reliability. Every knot makes my tackle weaker, more complicated, and less effective. Simplicity is the religion of great leaders. Every complication makes execution difficult and the distance between a company and customers greater, thus questioning success in the marketplace. Leadership demands disciplined simplicity in everything—vision, strategy, and execution. A vision is not a vision unless it is understood. Simplicity lets people believe in the vision. If the vision is complicated most people will ignore it. Vision operates and makes execution possible from its simplicity. The simplicity of a vision allows it to be shared easily with and between employees, from employees to customers, and among customers. Complication is the enemy of great vision. If things are too complicated and too difficult to grasp, then most likely this is not a real vision but an overcomplicated puzzle. Too much complexity simply turns people off. Simple is always better, yet simple is often more difficult. We are taught to make every process more complicated. We were never taught how to make things simple, which is necessary for leadership. Simplicity makes people productive in achieving their goals. Complication makes people busy solving problems that are created by it. A true leader must be a master of simplicity.

MYTH 4: Negativity is normal

I have a simple rule in my coaching practice—never coach uncoachable people. What defines whether a person is coachable or not?

First- Negative people are not coachable. They are toxic. Negativity does not allow us to look beyond ourselves and our prejudices. It fuels doubt and unnecessary worries. Negative people will find a problem in every decision. Negativity does not allow us to look into the future occupying every cell of our mind and blocking a path to success.

Second- Ungrateful people are never satisfied and never happy. They are looking for problems in everything and are very successful at creating more problems.

Third- Poor, know-it-all guys defend their ground at the cost of growth. They feel insecure about facing something unknown and pretend that they know everything.

Fourth- Ego-centric executives kill vision and blind us from seeing others and the world around us. The ego is the harshest master that is never satisfied while giving nothing in return. The reasons are simple:

• No one can create a positive future with negative thoughts.
• Your negativity is the highest barrier no one would be interested to overcome.
• Negativity is the worst advisor. It always aims to make you feel like a victim of circumstances and leads to mistakes that you will regret greatly afterward. Be positive if you want to be ahead of the game. A leader must be positive to be productive and to have energy within him. Stay positive regardless of circumstances and do not let anyone infect you with their negativity.

MYTH 5: Business in distress, not a leader

We have all had a few distress events in business facing the risk of losing everything. In such circumstances, an avalanche of problems fall on leaders from everywhere. ‘SOS’ is a great sea term for such an event. Whatever I considered solid fell to pieces, the phones of seemingly reliable partners were not answered, and funds melted like snow on a sunny day. The first reaction is to do what I can. Then the most challenging and dangerous phase comes—panic and helplessness. Panic blocks consciousness. Panic within a team when in distress is more devastating than the challenge itself. Let people calm down and set them to act meaningfully. A leader must be a rock and ensure the vision of the prospective future is much greater than any problems. Confidence in inevitable success brings calmness and effectiveness in achieving goals. If a leader is not confident in what he or she is doing, then employees will be even less so. If a leader is confident and calm, employees are calm and confident as well. The confident team will navigate your company out of a challenging situation. As soon as I calmly analysed this, I found that it was not my business in distress, but myself. Nothing wrong with my company. The problem is in the way I think and act. A leader is a dealer of confidence. People do not need leaders who feed their stress.