Through the previous two Blogs I have explored the assertion that when it comes to leading people, one of the hardest things to do is to lead the people (read part 1 here and read part 2 here).
Although I have confessed that there are no “simple” answers to leadership, I have committed to outlining several essential elements that are transferable to a variety of organizational environments.
Last time I explored the first step, “Clarify the Mission.” This week I examine the second step on a short list, "Assess and define the needed roles."
As organizations grow, they often follow a human version of a principle of thermodynamics. Also known as entropy, this can be defined in our context as a doctrine of inevitable social decline and degeneration. More simply stated, organizational growth requires vigilant leadership to prevent a deterioration of role clarity and human effectiveness.
Therefore, at the outset, each role on the team must be clearly defined. Only then, is it possible to identify, hire, and train the appropriate person for each position.
In other words, the team needs clear roles with job descriptions for each function. Based on this, leadership can seek to locate people who will appropriately fulfill the responsibilities outlined for each role. Presented as a “to-do” list, it looks like this:
- Identify each position needed to accomplish the task
- Create a job description for each position
- Hire and train people to fill each position
The emphasis is on role definition. Without this, entropy will set in (as defined above).
In the weeks ahead I will continue to unpack each of the other points outlined in the blog that started this series (read here). No matter the steps or method, one thing remains clear: it takes courage to lead.
Stay tuned.