Leaders Must React

Weekly Business Insights from Top Ten Business Magazines | Week 328

Extractive summaries and key takeaways from the articles curated from TOP TEN BUSINESS MAGAZINES to promote informed business decision-making | Since September 2017 | Week 328 | December 22-28, 2023

Personal Development, Leadership & Managing | Section 1

Leaders Must React

By Nitin Nohria | Harvard Business Review Magazine | January–February 2024 Issue

Extractive Summary of the Article | Listen

John Kotter’s framework, which breaks a leader’s job down into three key functions: articulating a compelling vision, aligning people around it, and motivating them to execute it would be incomplete if they don’t know how they react in real time to events they can’t anticipate.  A study reveals that CEOs spend 36% of their time in reactive mode, responding to unfolding events. This is an enormous commitment—hours they would probably prefer to devote to advancing their plans, helping their companies hit their goals, and strategically shaping their firms’ future.

To help leaders better understand which issues truly need their attention—and which do not— the author have created a two-by-two matrix that categorizes events according to two dimensions: how they initially present themselves (whether small or large) and how significant they will become over time. The matrix contains four quadrants: 

1. Normal noise: Small issues likely to remain small.  The leader’s task: Don’t get drawn in.  CEOs must learn not to get distracted or drawn in by noise. They should trust their organizations to handle these events and try to resolve to treat them as routine. Although it’s best for leaders to avoid getting personally engaged, they will benefit from adopting the motto “Trust but verify.” Even with seemingly trivial matters, they must ensure that anomalies don’t go unnoticed. By occasionally checking that the organization is responding appropriately, leaders can prevent problems from being neglected and becoming bigger headaches.
2. Clarion calls: Significant issues likely to remain significant.  The leader’s task: Be all-in.  Occasionally, events and problems that can have a huge impact on an organization’s operations, reputation, and financial standing announce themselves loud and clear.   The shared lessons from many cases: It’s critical for leaders to get personally involved, and they have to get all hands on deck as well. It’s important for them to avoid the temptation to retreat into themselves, because they’ll need the information, ideas, and resourcefulness of others.  Most crucially, throughout the process, they must focus on doing what is right (aligned with their organizational and personal values) instead of feeling pressured into doing what feels safe.
3. Whisper warnings: Small issues that might become significant.  The leader’s task: Nip them in the bud.  For leaders, this is the most dangerous kind of event. It can be easy to dismiss or mistake a whisper warning as normal noise—and fail to recognize the likelihood that an issue will escalate into a substantial threat.  When they crop up, the best approach is to act quickly and nip problems in the bud. With most whisper warnings, you can take steps to mitigate the situation before it explodes into a crisis.
4. Siren songs: Significant issues that are likely to diminish over time.  The leader’s task: Don’t overreact. Watch and wait.  The key to siren song situations is equanimity. Learning to watch and wait is essential. It can be helpful to sleep on a matter for a day or two and let the steam blow off to see if things calm down. More time often allows more information to come in—which can be extremely valuable. Staying informed is paramount, but overreacting can be counterproductive, as it can inadvertently set off a controversy.

A three-step process—sensing, sizing, and responding—can help leaders react effectively to the full spectrum of unfolding events.

3 key takeaways from the article

1. John Kotter’s framework, which breaks a leader’s job down into three key functions: articulating a compelling vision, aligning people around it, and motivating them to execute it would be incomplete if they don’t know how they react in real time to events they can’t anticipate. 
2. To help leaders better understand which issues truly need their attention—and which do not— a two-by-two matrix that categorizes events according to two dimensions: how they initially present themselves (whether small or large) and how significant they will become over time. The matrix contains four quadrants: Normal noise: Small issues likely to remain small.  The leader’s task: Don’t get drawn in.  Clarion calls: Significant issues likely to remain significant.  The leader’s task: Be all-in.  Whisper warnings: Small issues that might become significant.  The leader’s task: Nip them in the bud. And Siren songs: Significant issues that are likely to diminish over time.  The leader’s task: Don’t overreact. 
3. A three-step process—sensing, sizing, and responding—can help leaders react effectively to the full spectrum of unfolding events.

Full Article

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Topics:  Leadership, Decision-making, Strategy