A few weeks ago, I posted the following as the leadership quote for the month of March:
“Decide democratically, implement dictatorially.” —Peter Schutz, CEO of Porsche 1981-1986
One of my readers replied with the following comment:
“Schutz got the first part of that quote right. I however believe you implement collaboratively.”
In our conversation that followed his comment, I was reminded how everything is subject to interpretation. My reader heard Schutz say “command and control”.
What I hear in this quote is, gather input in the planning and then once the decision is made, get it done. It is incumbent upon a leader to hear input from those impacted by a decision. Two reasons for this:
- to inform the decision, perhaps others see opportunities or risks that the leader does not
- to allow those impacted to feel heard, to weigh in
And, it is incumbent upon a leader to move quickly once the decision is made. The time for feedback is over, it is time to execute and for all parties involved to move together toward implementation so as to maximize the benefits of the decision once it is made.
How do you see this question?
The initial results of my Pivot are excellent. I feel I have much greater clarity regarding the next 3-5 years.. 