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Detox Leadership Overload
What happens when we remove. Declutter. Make space? 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.
𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩-𝐚𝐬-𝐰𝐞-𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰-it is a human construction. We define its boundaries. We create its language. We decide what belongs inside it, what competence looks like, what gets rewarded, what gets measured, what “good” looks like.
𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭. We have collectively built a fairly 𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 around it.
Strategy.
Performance.
KPIs.
Budgets.
Structures.
Processes.
Operations.
And then we wonder why leadership can become so difficult to change. Perhaps sometimes the system they are exceptionally good at operating has become the thing 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲.
And somewhere along the way, we started confusing the machinery with the discipline itself. If we for a moment imagined we could strip away the most heavy operational layer of management. The management-by-spreadsheet part.
The reporting.
The tracking.
The constant measuring.
The calendar packed with operational follow-up. The things that make you feel productive because there is always something to manage.
Then look at what remains. Because suddenly there is space.
And space has a strange habit of making things visible.
The people you keep postponing.
The conversations you haven't had.
The relationship you stopped investing in.
The decision you've been circling. The body you've been overriding.
The things you've been telling yourself you'll get to when things calm down.
Except now the operational noise is quieter. So what do you actually do with the space?
This is where I think we uncover something interesting about leadership-as-we-know-it.
We have become extraordinarily sophisticated at teaching people how to operate the business. Much less 𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.
And yet we increasingly expect leaders and employees to be good at things that cannot be managed in an Excel sheet.
Self-awareness.
Judgement.
Relationships.
Difficult conversations. Emotional regulation.
So perhaps the question isn't: “How do we get leaders to perform better?”
Perhaps it is:
“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬?”
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