As a career fighter pilot and later a leader of large military teams in both peacetime and combat, I have learned that shared power, understanding, and risk increases a team’s resiliency and agility. This process of scanning or, in fighter pilot terms, a “crosscheck” forms a disciplined contract for a team to execute the planned mission, assess progress in execution, adjust resources to mitigate threats and to be more effective…especially in volatile and dynamic environments. The first step is for leaders to share power.
Are the people at the top of your organization willing to give up some of their power for others to have a seat at the table? The idea of "power sharing" is something great servant leaders do well. Leaders must be vulnerable to criticism and check their egos at the door if they truly want to build collaborative teams where it is "safe" for those with different ideas to speak up. The best leaders invite professional, constructive criticism, disciplined questioning and are humble enough to admit when maybe their own ideas are flawed.
When this collaborative culture is fostered, “stovepipes” within an organization begin to dissolve. Members of one vertical have increased awareness of the issues in adjacent departments and can begin to discuss innovative ways for the TEAM to WORK more effectively, to COMMUNICATE more clearly and openly, and provide each other with MUTUAL SUPPORT.
The other benefit of this kind of environment is that TEAM members develop a “shared understanding” of the organizational strategy, objectives, challenges, threats, and risks. The leader can facilitate the development of a framework for a vigilant and disciplined scan of the environment. This framework should include indications and warnings meant to cue decision-makers to the need to adjust focus and/or resources to achieve desired outcomes, including revenue, talent retention and growth goals.
This kind of leadership empowers and expects all team members to be “sensors” scanning for threats to the TEAM’s mission or resources. When people at all levels have a shared understanding of the changing environment, and they speak up when they see indications that the desired goals are at risk of faltering, a sense of “shared risk” emerges.
When all own a piece of the power to succeed as a team and own a responsibility to alert the team and leadership to risk indications--leaders can manage risk to the “mission” and risk to the “force.” When executing a fighter escort mission, the fighter escorts have a responsibility to protect ground attack and support aircraft from adversary fighter aircraft. The fighter escorts are dependent on the support aircraft for refueling and battle management. The ground attack aircraft are dependent on the fighter escorts to defend them from adversary fighters. This “force package” must have a shared understanding of the plan, acceptable risk, or losses, and all have the power and responsibility to alert the package leader to unobserved or changing threats. If one element fails to adhere to their contract, the force package is at risk of loss and the mission is at risk of failure. Every individual has a crosscheck that provides overlapping coverage of potential gaps or seams that could be exploited by the adversary force.
Leaders who foster a mindset of shared power, understanding, and risk make a wise investment.
What is the leadership of your team doing to develop your organizational crosscheck?
Authored By: Dirk Smith, Managing Director