Hi, I’m Ian McClean, founder of Flow Group and GreenLine Conversations. This podcast has grown out of the chaos that’s been thrust upon us. And in it, I share the best of 25 years of helping leaders in business organizations deal and cope with change. So, as you’re out there, busy making sense of it all, trying to cope, and repurposing your organisations, I’m hoping that some of this will provide some help, some of the time.
I’ll keep it deliberately short, because I know you’re busy. Let’s dive in.
Welcome back to episode two of the new season, Confessions of a Guru. And just to begin, I’d like to say thanks for the messages and the communication concerning the new format and the fact that we’re actually back in business. And if you’d like to communicate or connect with me, do so on LinkedIn. I’d be delighted to hear from you on anything we do within the season or within the series generally.
The format to remind you of this season is that I take and share a story from the field, from the experience of working with leaders and leadership, which really does demonstrate lessons of what to do, or often what not to do. And we will conclude every episode by asking you a question related to the topic of the story for you to reflect upon regarding your own life, regarding your own leadership.
And that’s really where the value lies. So before I share this episode’s story, let me begin by offering you a piece of context. There is a scene in season three of the Disney Plus series, The Bear, where Carmie, the lead character, is in the kitchen with his sister. She picks up a sheet of paper from the counter and she asks him, what’s this?
To which he replies, on the top of the page are the words, the non negotiables. And Carmi explains, that’s how we do this correctly. That’s how restaurants of the highest caliber actually operate. The list includes things like respect tradition, push the boundaries, collaborate vibrantly. Carmi requests that his sister print out the list and hand them out to the staff.
She appears dubious about the impact, but he shuts it off by summarizing and saying, Hey, we got to be excellent every day.
The best piece of leadership advice I ever received was if you can be nothing else as a leader, be. You see, the leader is responsible for just two things. One of which is defining what really matters, the non negotiables.
So here’s the story. We are deep in strategy season at the moment. Unlike the previous story, which came from very early in my career, this is a story that’s very recent. I was working with an executive team at an offsite when they were doing just that, trying to define the strategy for the next three years and within that identifying what are the non negotiables.
They spent two whole days working in a remote location and ultimately at the end of the two days, they came up with the non negotiables. Which were four key priorities and four team behaviors. At various stages throughout the two days, they differed, they sparred, they triggered, they articulated, and they summarized until finally white smoke.
In truth, they differed far more than they agreed throughout, but ultimately by pushing in, by seeking to understand, by listening, by being honest. By being vulnerable, they got to a point where they got the non negotiables that they could all live over and that they could all commit to. Every syllable by the end had been teased over before it was finally minted.
The executive team then proudly brought the tablets to the N 1 leadership team or the next level down. Expectations were high for the big reveal. And here it was. Ta da! The non negotiables. In the room I observed the n 1 team of leaders and their expressions, which said it all. It said something like, is that it? 4 plus 4? And it took you all of two whole days to come up with that?
This brings me to the second thing that leaders are responsible for. and that is building commitment. You see, it took the leadership team two whole days of complexity to arrive at a point of simplicity. And if it does take two whole days for you to get to a point of vested commitment, which it does, how can you expect half a dozen slides at a town hall presentation to produce the same effect?
The work of the leader doesn’t end when you’ve defined successfully the non negotiables. It’s really just the beginning. So, if you’re ready to reflect, here are three reflection questions for you based on the story. The first is, what are your non negotiables? And, I mean that in two ways. Just like our executive team.
What are the things that you must do, no matter what? That’s what needs to be done. What are your non negotiables? And the second is, within your team, what are the non negotiables around what’s okay and not okay in terms of how you behave with one another? And that’s how. So non negotiables, what are they?
Both the must dos, what you need to do, and the team behaviors, what’s okay and not okay, how you need to do it. That’s question one.
Are you clear? Secondly, how aligned are you with those around you in your team about what is non negotiable? So if I stop them in the corridor and ask them to define what the non negotiables are in terms of what must be done and how people must behave.or not.
Would they be the same? Would they be aligned with you? That’s question two.
And question three is, if you do have clarity around the non negotiables, what is your plan for ensuring that other people understand them and are as committed to them as you?
So, plenty of food for thought in the story and in the questions. If you want to get in touch with please connect or communicate with me on LinkedIn. And if you’re interested in the framework that we consistently use when we facilitate the off sites, as per the story that I mentioned, have a look at greenlineconversations.com.
Until next time, stay sane, stay safe, stay connected.
