What a Great Way to Start Our Day!
Each quarter David and I attend a business conference to improve the efficiency and capability of our computer service business. Four Star General McChrystal (commander of Joint Special Operations Command in the mid-2000s) was the main speaker. As we sat and listened to General McChrystal I was not only humbled to be in the same room as this hero but I was also drawn to what he was saying. His words hit home in many avenues of our lives. I was hearing ways to improve our business and, at the same time, I kept hearing ways to improve upon my @Kiwanis experience.
Most organizations have a very formal pyramid-shaped hierarchy. Although, I recognize the importance of this and the history behind this, sometimes it is the hierarchy that holds us back. The General explains that the problems with typical hierarchy is; the message coming from the top gets repeated and changed with each iteration. It is almost unrecognizable from the original message by the time it reaches the intended audience. Although these organizations run with extreme precision, and nearly flawless execution, they cannot compete due to their slow infrastructure.
One of the General's analogies is that a leader is more like a gardener than a chess master.
General McChrystal said “if the garden is well organized and adequately maintained, and the vegetables are promptly harvested when ripe, the product is pretty impressive. The gardener creates an environment in which the plants can flourish. The work done up front, and vigilant maintenance, allow the plants to grow individually, all at the same time. ” He calls this Leading Like a Gardner.
Some organizations have adopted a management style close to collective consciousness and to be competitive many current organizations will need to adapt in order to stay competitive. Being flexible and able to adapt to changing conditions is as important as efficiency.
It is so satisfying to listen to a speaker and be able to identify with their thoughts and experiences; and be able to correlate the ideas for both my business and Kiwanis. Today, I was able to get so much out of this presentation for both organizations. I can’t wait to read General McChrystal’s book Team of Teams to develop these ideas further. #KiwanisNeedsCathy