One thing I did not get into in my initial review for The Hard Thing About Hard Things were the general leadership concepts scattered throughout the book. I’ve organized a few of them for today because I think these ideas are important for leaders at any level of an organization to consider.
Basic leadership concepts
The most important task for any leader is to make the best possible decision in a given situation. It does not matter if there are no obviously good moves to choose from. Most people can choose from among a set of good options and making these types of decisions does not require leadership. Leaders take responsibility for decision making when there are no good options available.
Since decisions must often be made before all the needed information can be gathered, a strong leader gathers information all the time. This increases the chances of a leader having all the needed information on-hand when the moment to make a decision becomes apparent.
A skilled leader is a great time manager because the only way to gather information is to spend time gathering information. Having as much time available as possible is the only way to maximize the amount of information gathered. If a leader’s time is disorganized, there will not be enough time left in the day to gather information for the benefit of future decisions. Leaders who rise through an organization often do so because of this one skill. Instead of putting out fires all day, these leaders have enough time to anticipate problems and address threats before they manifest as crises.
An employee is someone who gathers information through manuals, official communications, and formal direction. A leader gathers information through observation, casual conversation, and informal direction. Leaders assemble the information they have gathered informally into resources such as FAQs, status reports, and white papers. Leaders take information gathered informally and document it for employees to leverage later.
Leaders clarify ‘why’ instead of over-defining ‘what’. They make others understand ‘why’ because they recognize that the employees who understand ‘why’ resist the temptation of determining their own sets of priorities. A person who cannot articulate ‘why’ is not ready to lead effectively.
Leaders are responsible for fitting a genius into the team. They must identify the right strengths for a role and work with the new hire on shoring up weaknesses. If someone fits into the team but lacks the required strengths for the role, the leader must be the one who helps the person move on to the appropriate team.
-The Business Bro
