Leadership - Free Tips on How to Avoid Becoming Disconnected

As people move up the career ladder into leadership posts, they often find themselves less and less connected to what is going on in the organisation. Meetings, reports, returns, regulatory requirements, crisis handling can often become the norm. So as a leader, what can you do to avoid becoming disconnected from the organisation?



Visit the front line regularly
One of the easiest ways to stay connected is to make a point of making unannounced visits to different locations, departments or divisions. The benefit of doing this is that your visit will not be stage managed and you will get the opportunity to see first hand what is going on.
Listen to those on the front line
Generally, it is those that are closest to the point of delivery that know what is really going on. It might be a sales team, people on the production line, those interacting with patients in a hospital or with users in a library. Listen to these people. They will give you insights into some of the problems and challenges. These insights can act as opportunities to fix something or maybe even launch something new.
Ask questions
As a leader you will be presented with lots of reports. Sometimes it feels like you are drowning under the volume of paper, getting a lot of data but not a lot of information. The trouble with reports is that they have gone through many iterations and others tend to report what they think you want to hear. Make a point of asking good questions that let you get to the reality of the situation. A good technique is to ask yourself what are the 2 or 3 most important things you need to know about a particular part of the business.
Give a clear message
Make sure that you have clarity about where the organisation is heading and you get that message out as much as you possibly can. People will stay connected if they are clear what is going to happen, when it is likely to happen and what some of the consequences are. This is even more important if you are in a situation when facing turnaround.
Be accessible
If you make yourself accessible, people will be much more likely to bring issues and concerns to your attention. Being accessible is not just about having an open door policy. With technological advances, it is possible to set up an e-mail address where people can send their comments and questions to the most senior people in the organisation. An alternative might be a telephone switched to voicemail where people can pose questions. If you set up any of these mechanisms, it is important to make sure that a response is given promptly.
Bottom line - it is easy to become disconnected as you climb the leadership ladder. By taking some simple steps you can greatly enhance the possibility of staying connected and being a successful leader.

Duncan Brodie