Steel Construction Vol 40 No 2 - Tubular Steel Feature | Page 28

SAISC LEADERSHIP comment AND MANAGEMENT Tough times call for aMan(ager) of Steel By Hylton Gudmanz, Executive Coach and Strategy Implementation Consultant [email protected] “We cannot become great by minimising our capacity to deliver. Our teams must withstand a heavy workload without buckling under the stress, and serve stakeholders with an attitude that encourages client retention and ongoing business projects.” 26 Steel Construction Vol. 40 No. 2 2016 Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman is known for his super-strength, agility, laser-eyed stare and his ability to deflect the bullets of attackers. He is a unique, competent, durable and tough opponent, as we are bound to see in the forthcoming Superman v Batman movie. Superman is also, thankfully, a compassionate person, protective of his adopted planet and responsive to its people. Our people need to adapt, innovate and advance, not reduce and shrink back. We cannot become great by minimising our capacity to deliver. Our teams must withstand a heavy workload without buckling under the stress, and serve stakeholders with an attitude that encourages client retention and ongoing projects. Twenty-first Century managers, especially those within the steel industry, are increasingly being called on to display all of the characteristics mentioned above. Many of us have had parents, teachers and bosses who trained us to be tough, with little room for error or questioning authority. This “grooved” us into a certain way of behaving. A way that honours consistency, stability, predictability and control. Unfortunately, this is no longer the default pattern of business, as I’m sure you’ve discovered. Douglas McGregor (MIT Sloan) differentiated between Theory X and Y: a belief that people are essentially unmotivated, untrustworthy and need to be controlled to perform (X) versus a belief that people are intrinsically motivated, inherently creative and will unlock drive to perform if shown the value of a goal (Y). Which is the default stance in your organisation, or your team? I’m guessing there is a blend, but it may favour a bit more “X” than is helpful. The world we live in has been described using an acronym borrowed from the U.S. Military, VUCA, meaning “volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous”. Futurist Bob Johansen has said that the antidote is “vision, understanding, clarity and agility”. In essence, we need to lead (envision, enable), manage (provide clarity of focus, standards, priorities) and coach (listen, probe to really understand, reduce complexity by “chunking” things into manageable segments). The Manager of Steel needs to be strong, for sure, and this means resilience, confidence in his or her unique value contribution and personal strengths and competence in completing the work of the organisation. Deflecting personal attacks comes from a secure place of knowing self through experience and overcoming hardship. Open leadership is probably required: sharing our “thinking” and receiving feedback graciously is well described in the recent book by team leadership expert, Patrick Lencioni.