This week, my colleague Russell Raath shares his perspective on the leadership that brought (or drug) us to the fiscal cliff.
Those of us who have children, know a child, or once were a child (or perhaps still are) - yes, pretty much everyone - knows how children behave. The biggest challenge in dealing with children is that what they tell you they want isn't always good for them. Depending on your parenting style or how you interact with young children, the dynamic that follows might be a back and forth, carefully exploring practicalities and weighing the consequences. The aim is to do this well and to keep things moving smoothly - with as few tantrums, meltdowns, and shouting matches as possible. It's called negotiation. Give and take. Winning the battle vs winning the war.
Not incidentally, it is also what leaders do: Understand the challenge that they are trying to overcome, and figure out how best to get everyone there - negotiating along the way.
This fiscal cliff debacle has been a lot of things - annoying, uncertain, frustrating, confusing. But what gets me the most is that it is irresponsible and embarrassing. Over the last several months, the leaders and lawmakers of arguably the most significant economy in the world have had an inability to act like adults and find a vaguely productive compromise.
I am writing this on New Year's Day when the news outlets are all telling us that we might have a deal. And so I look at these leaders and wonder why, in the face of the consequences of not reaching a deal they stubbornly dug in their heels – like a challenging child. For Pete's sake, we all know they had to negotiate. We all know they had to make some concessions in order to move forward. It's too bad it has taken this long. Now they've left me with this impression that they cannot lead to a decision, but rather require a temper-tantrum standoff in order to reach a consensus. I'm not impressed that they reached a deal.
Our leaders can take a lesson from Jo Frost the Supernanny. Ms Frost, in her parents-vs.-children TV show, helps rebalance the family scales so that the parents see themselves as, and indeed become, the leaders of the household (a role that they de facto had, but lost over time) - note to lawmakers.
Seeing adults squabbling and fighting and calling each other names isn't a highly valued characteristic (at least me and none of my friends think it is). It is time for our elected lawmakers and leaders to do what true leaders do: Resolve to find the common ground. Accept that you'll need some concessions (which means making compromises), and demonstrate that you are indeed leaders. You're not always going to get your way. And if you're only figuring that out now, figure it out fast.
For more about how organizations can develop the agility required to succeed in today’s rapidly changing world, read my new article, “Accelerate,” which was featured in the November 2012 issue of Harvard Business Review.
Russell Raath is a senior engagement leader at Kotter International, a firm that helps leaders accelerate strategy implementation in their organizations.
