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Shambaugh published in Leadership Excellence Issue

What Can You Learn From Government Leadership Failure

by Rebecca Shambaugh

Recent events in Washington have illuminated the stunning failure of our leadership. I’ve never before seen from various factions of government such a lack of collaboration and willingness to work together for the greater good of the country. Yet I choose to look for the silver lining—something we can learn.

Most firms have processes in place to encourage people to work together, yet they still struggle with collaboration between leadership levels, departments, genders, generations, and cultures. A culture of collaboration starts at the top. How well leaders work together sets the tone for how others work together. If the vice presidents of sales and customer service won’t collaborate for the good of the customer, don’t expect their teams to work together either.

One big factor in collaboration is that too many leaders are trapped in 20thcentury leadership models that simply don’t work today. Our world is becoming more complex and interconnected.

We can’t use the thinking and decision making processes to navigate the global terrain that we used just 10 years ago. It will take a fully engaged, collaborative and cross-functional group working toward a common cause to deal with tough, complex problems. If leaders don’t put away their political agendas and egos, it will catch up with them.

I once worked with a Fortune 150 organization that had exceptional growth for 20 years. But things started to go awry, and they lost key contracts and market share. The leaders called us to assess the situation. We discovered that their leadership was the problem. First, they lacked clarity about objectives. Second, departments were not working together—the silo mentality and blame game were rampant. The lack of collaboration between functions created a ripple effect that reached to customers. With a targeted leadership development approach, we worked with the leaders to get the organization back on track.

You can move beyond organizational politics, find common ground, and work toward common goals using five ideas:

  • Take time to build relationships and build the team. We saw this strategy when President Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner took time out from intense negotiations to play golf. A key element of integrated, balanced leadership is getting out of the regular workplace and building relationships. When you know someone as a human being—as more than their title or position— it is easier to find a way to work together. Executive sessions, team-building efforts, and offsite retreats can build rapport and trust, help people to agree on common ground or common vision.
  • Step back and ask, “Who are we really serving?” I wonder how different the outcome of debt negotiations would be if those in our government had remembered that they were elected to serve the citizens. Leaders get caught up in the same situation and succumb to the same problem—forgetting whom it is they serve. They become so focused on the process that they lose sight of their purpose: to provide value to the customer. Leaders need to develop and consistently communicate a shared vision that inspires and engages everyone and connects them to those they serve.
  • Be accountable and accept responsibility for problems. In this debt crisis, we blame everyone except ourselves. Yet we’re part of government and should accept responsibility for creating our budget problem, and hold ourselves accountable for fixing it. Leaders have a hand in creating problems, if only by being asleep at the wheel. Blaming others doesn’t solve anything. Taking responsibility is a first step in the right direction.
  • Leverage the rich diversity of ideas, perspectives, and experiences around you. Leaders need to capitalize on that diversity to produce better outcomes and navigate different viewpoints to reach successful conclusions. Leaders should be role models for embracing new ideas, being open to other perspectives, fostering innovation and collaboration, and compromising when necessary.
  • Make the hard decisions now. If you can’t make the tough choices now, what makes you think you will be able to do it later? Leadership calls for courage, for stepping out of the status quo to make the difficult decision.

Out of tough situations emerge powerful and impactful leaders. Your organization needs authentic leadership. So, tear down silos, embrace collaboration, and build bridges. This is your chance to lead, to do something big, and to show others what is possible.

Rebecca Shambaugh is CEO of SHAMBAUGH, thought leader, speaker, author, and provider of results-focused LD and coaching services. Visit www.shambaughleadership.com


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