If I asked you to name the important meetings you have coming up, it probably wouldn't be a problem: things like the annual shareholders' meeting, the final pitch for a major contract, the one-on-one performance review with your boss and so on. But if I ask you to point to the two or three moments in each of these meetings that will define the outcomes, many of you may look at me with less certainty. We don't have a problem identifying critical moments from our past, but predicting — and preparing for — those moments in the future is quite a bit more difficult, but no less essential than those past moments prove.
These critical moments are often characterized as "moments of truth," but in real-time, they're usually a moment of uncertainty, not clarity. So how do we make the most of the defining moments coming at us in the near future?
First, let's identify them. A defining moment is a period of time during which the critical ingredients for success are present for a particular pursuit. These "moments" could last a few seconds or measured in years.
More important than defining the duration of these moments, however, is identifying which ingredients are key to success. Take the annual shareholders' meeting. There are often as many agendas as there are stakeholders. What is one thing I could pursue there that would also benefit the other stakeholders? A typical annual meeting could drag on for hours. At which juncture of the proceedings might it be most opportune to advance my agenda? Which outcomes in the other agendas might favor my cause? Who can I line up beforehand to lend support at the critical moment? By paying attention to these things that are crucial to your objectives, you can act purposefully to marshal the ingredients for success or at least watch for the moment when they emerge together.
The advice above is somewhat geared to eliminate uncertainty. But uncertainty actually can help you achieve breakthrough results in your upcoming important meetings. To be sure, uncertainties drive all of us crazy. They paralyze most of us because our plans often become invalid; we feel exposed and vulnerable as we lose control and fear for the worst. This is the same whether we are talking about a situation broadly or a meeting specifically. Uncertain moments become frozen moments.
To get unstuck, someone needs to jump in and move the group forward. The right intervention done well could lead to genuine appreciation of your leadership by everyone. So how can you prepare for this? It starts with knowing that uncertainty occurs at least once in most important meetings. This means ahead of every important meeting, you should think about what those moments might be. Visualize the conditions under which you would jump in and what you might say and do. There is no need to be too precise here: it's more about mental alertness and awareness of what opportunities look like when they emerge and conditioning yourself to pounce when they do.
Time is a tyrant. It consumes unmade choices as it runs out. Inaction is a choice. When uncertainty reigns, the far greater danger is to stop and wait till uncertainty resolves. It may not. And those who choose to act are the ones who will influence the outcome. There is no guarantee, of course, that the uncertainty won't overwhelm the actions, along with, in some cases, the actors. I have seen enough cases in which the movement per se did not suffice but is nonetheless valuable as it upsets the equilibrium, causes reactions from others that create new opportunity. Often that's all one can hope for.
When I spend time briefing senior executives about their critical meetings these days, I spend less than 15% of my time on the process design, content and flow of agendas, and 85% of it on what the leadership moments might be and how they can prepare themselves for those breakthrough moments when they occur. The guidelines are simple: embrace the uncertainty, make a conscious choice to act on it through mental preparation, and, most importantly, stand by your principles when you make your choice.
Tsun-yan Hsieh is Director Emeritus at McKinsey & Company where he has been for 30 years. He sits on the Board of Directors of Sony Corporation and is a member of Cue Ball's Collective brain trust.
source: http://blogs.hbr.org/tjan/2010/04/are-you-prepared-for-your-next.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-MANAGEMENT_TIP-_-JUN_2010-_-MTOD0615&referral=00203
These critical moments are often characterized as "moments of truth," but in real-time, they're usually a moment of uncertainty, not clarity. So how do we make the most of the defining moments coming at us in the near future?
First, let's identify them. A defining moment is a period of time during which the critical ingredients for success are present for a particular pursuit. These "moments" could last a few seconds or measured in years.
More important than defining the duration of these moments, however, is identifying which ingredients are key to success. Take the annual shareholders' meeting. There are often as many agendas as there are stakeholders. What is one thing I could pursue there that would also benefit the other stakeholders? A typical annual meeting could drag on for hours. At which juncture of the proceedings might it be most opportune to advance my agenda? Which outcomes in the other agendas might favor my cause? Who can I line up beforehand to lend support at the critical moment? By paying attention to these things that are crucial to your objectives, you can act purposefully to marshal the ingredients for success or at least watch for the moment when they emerge together.
The advice above is somewhat geared to eliminate uncertainty. But uncertainty actually can help you achieve breakthrough results in your upcoming important meetings. To be sure, uncertainties drive all of us crazy. They paralyze most of us because our plans often become invalid; we feel exposed and vulnerable as we lose control and fear for the worst. This is the same whether we are talking about a situation broadly or a meeting specifically. Uncertain moments become frozen moments.
To get unstuck, someone needs to jump in and move the group forward. The right intervention done well could lead to genuine appreciation of your leadership by everyone. So how can you prepare for this? It starts with knowing that uncertainty occurs at least once in most important meetings. This means ahead of every important meeting, you should think about what those moments might be. Visualize the conditions under which you would jump in and what you might say and do. There is no need to be too precise here: it's more about mental alertness and awareness of what opportunities look like when they emerge and conditioning yourself to pounce when they do.
Time is a tyrant. It consumes unmade choices as it runs out. Inaction is a choice. When uncertainty reigns, the far greater danger is to stop and wait till uncertainty resolves. It may not. And those who choose to act are the ones who will influence the outcome. There is no guarantee, of course, that the uncertainty won't overwhelm the actions, along with, in some cases, the actors. I have seen enough cases in which the movement per se did not suffice but is nonetheless valuable as it upsets the equilibrium, causes reactions from others that create new opportunity. Often that's all one can hope for.
When I spend time briefing senior executives about their critical meetings these days, I spend less than 15% of my time on the process design, content and flow of agendas, and 85% of it on what the leadership moments might be and how they can prepare themselves for those breakthrough moments when they occur. The guidelines are simple: embrace the uncertainty, make a conscious choice to act on it through mental preparation, and, most importantly, stand by your principles when you make your choice.
Tsun-yan Hsieh is Director Emeritus at McKinsey & Company where he has been for 30 years. He sits on the Board of Directors of Sony Corporation and is a member of Cue Ball's Collective brain trust.
source: http://blogs.hbr.org/tjan/2010/04/are-you-prepared-for-your-next.html?cm_mmc=npv-_-MANAGEMENT_TIP-_-JUN_2010-_-MTOD0615&referral=00203
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment