Leaders Still Need Time to Think

Technology has changed the way that we lead. More so than any other time in history we have access, almost instantaneously, to volumes of information and data points. We have software packages that can can those data points and provide us with intelligent insights. It’s accessible. It’s fast. Technology means that we are also more connected that we’ve ever been before. Technology has blurred the lines between work and home. Technology has given us the ability to “experience” and learn in ways that we have never before. As a non work related example when the Montreal Canadian decided to trade Camelleri back to the Calgary Flames we were able to share in the heat of the moment thanks to tv and twitter (being pulled mid match resulted in a frenzy that trended world-wide!) As sports fans we knew what was going on almost at the same time as the experts and the players themselves, as marketers we received a huge amount of information about the values of hockey fans and the pockets where those fans lived (maybe there is a market beyond North America) and we were able to connect with the affected players through their twitter accounts. In short we lived the moment in the moment.

Transpose that to the work environment – the immediacy of the information, the ability to interact with those that are impacted and the chance to influence the messages – all exceptionally valuable aspects of our technology driven world. Our customers want more agility. We have the technology to support that.

As leaders, both big L and little l, we have a responsibility to drive the performance required to meet or exceed our company objectives. We want to do so while we live the values we espouse. We need to not only deal with the realities of today, we have a core ownership to steer in the direction of tomorrow. While we have lots of information we don’t have a lot of time. Either as a real or self-imposed constraint – we are driven to be faster and better. And when we are pushed to be faster and better we push others to be the same. It drives an environment of pressure and speed. Some of that drive is valid – we have already shown that the technology supports that. But there is a limitation to the technology. At some point in time a human being needs to take that information, assimilate it, challenge it, decision it and share it with those that will need it.

The capacity of the human mind to process information has not changed significantly over recent time. We have better information and we have it sooner. No more no less. As leaders we need time to consider the information we have in front of us. We need to explore consequences of decisions. We need to weigh probabilities of outcomes and the impact they will have on meeting goals. We need time to do our “what ifs”. Sure we can make a decision quickly – most of us can very quickly see an obvious course of action given the information we have on hand. But obvious tends to come to us without testing core assumptions, without opening up to options that may not have been considered before. In other words it makes us faster at what we do today, it does not make us better or necessarily drive us to where we want to be tomorrow. And come to think of it, my obvious may not be your obvious. As a leader I need to know that. I need time to figure that out.

The consequences of not figuring it out can include, among other things,

– missed opportunities. The world is full of possibilities. Thinking outside of the box by challenging what we know and do today is a time-consuming but rewarding exercise in potential innovation.

– decision-making in a vacuum

– lack of ownership. Yours as a leader (I’m letting the information do my thinking) or your employees (I don’t have time to think through what the data is telling me. She doesn’t give me enough time, she can figure it out)

As leaders we need to take the time necessary to think. We also need to empower our employees to think. And thinking takes time… and perhaps a little practice.

Next post I’ll share some practical tips on how to create a thinking environment.