Focusing on the Big Picture

06/09/2005

I don't carry a compass, mostly because I tend to disagree with it.
Matt Swanson

In the book, Harvard Business Review on Becoming a High Performance Manager (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002), Carol Walker offers this advice to those new to a leadership position....

"Rookie managers have a real knack for allowing immediate tasks to overshadow overarching initiatives. This is particularly true for those promoted from within, because they've just come from the front lines where they're accustomed to constant fire fighting. As a recent individual contributor armed with plenty of technical know-how, the rookie manager instinctively runs to the immediate rescue of any client or staff member in need. The sense of accomplishment rookies get from such rescues is seductive and far more exhilarating than rooting out the cause of all the fire fighting. And what could be better for team spirit than having the boss jump into the trenches and fight the good fight?

"Of course, a leader shows great team spirit if he joins the troops in emergencies. But are all those emergencies thry emergencies? Are newer staff members being empowered to handle complex challenges? And if the rookie manager is busy fighting fires, who is thinking strategically for the department? If you're the senior manager and these questions are popping into your head, you may well have a rookie manager who doesn't fully understand his role or is afraid to seize it."

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