The exercise of authority and control only occurs when the team (or overall organization) is in crisis and is looking anywhere for someone to take charge or at least assume responsibility (and often subsequently being assigned all of the blame – as a convenient scapegoat). If the wire four leader is reticent to step in, then the team (and other members of the organization) might be inclined to “collude” in manufacturing the crisis (or creating the false image of the crisis) to get the leader’s attention or at least shatter the leader’s seeming apathy and indifference to the fate of the team and (more broadly) welfare of the organization.
These are all very important issues to be addressed in a coaching session. The first step might be to bringing up the four-wire analogy and determine which wire is most often descriptive of the leader’s way of working with their team. As Keven O’Brien has noted, the flight deck on a carrier can be a very dangerous place. We need thoughtful and self-reflective leaders to assist in making the landing of planes (and the performance of teams) a bit less dangerous—and remaining intact for the next important mission.
Your Own Preferred Wire
Whether you are a full time coach or a full time leader in an organization, it might be timely to reflect on your own preferred style of leadership. Which of the four wires best describes the way in which you influence and inspire other people (either as a coach or as a leader). Do you move to action by taking a risk–or encouraging other people to take risks. Are you someone who is excited by first wire attempts. This is an abrupt form of leadership and coaching. We need to be ready for the dramatic state of affairs that attends first wire leadership. At the other extreme, are you someone who tends to wait for a crisis to occur before taking action. With a crisis often comes not just focused problem solving and engagement, but also the possibility that the crisis ends up being quite destructive and de-energizing — especially if crisis occurs frequently and if focused-attention and active engagement only seems to happen when there is a crisis. In essence, such a state of affairs is a form of organizational addiction–and it usually ends just as badly as personal addiction.
Second and third wire leadership and coaching are less dramatic, but usually more appropriate. As a coach, we explore with our client the best ways to influence and inspire that do not require either excessive risk or recurrent crisis. When can inspiration come from a compelling vision rather than an attention-getting threat? When can influence come from a thoughtful and evidence-based examination of the strengths and weaknesses that are to be found inside our organization, as well as the opportunities and threats to be discovered outside our organization –in other words, a SWOT analysis? This more visionary and thoughtful approach to leadership leads not to exhaustion or disillusionment, but rather to a sustained commitment to the organization’s mission and values. Welcome to wire two and wire three leadership.
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Note: Photo of Moon provided by Owen Bergquist
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