Leadership And Management

Unleashing Potential: A Comprehensive Guide To The Theory Of Constraints

by Krishna Chodipilli | Jul 31, 2023 | Leadership And Management

The Theory of Constraints (TOC), developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his seminal book “The Goal,” is a revolutionary management philosophy. At its core, TOC holds that any manageable system is limited in achieving its objectives by a few constraints or bottlenecks. Organizations can significantly enhance their performance and profitability by systematically identifying and improving these constraints.

Core Concepts of the Theory of Constraints

Throughput

Throughput, a fundamental concept in the Theory of Constraints (TOC), refers to the rate at which a system generates money through sales. It represents the flow of value-added products or services to customers. The primary goal of TOC is to increase throughput, as it directly impacts an organization’s profitability and success.

In TOC, the focus is on identifying and improving the key constraints that limit the overall throughput of a system. By optimizing these constraints, organizations can enhance their ability to deliver products or services quickly and efficiently, generating more revenue.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses encompass the money a system expends to convert inventory into throughput. This includes variable costs such as raw materials, direct labor, utilities, and other expenses directly related to the production process. TOC aims to manage and reduce these operating expenses as much as possible, aiming to enhance profitability.

TOC recognizes that operating expenses should be minimized without compromising the system’s throughput. Organizations can reduce operating expenses while maintaining or even increasing throughput by improving the efficiency of operations, eliminating waste, and optimizing resource utilization.

Inventory

Inventory represents all the money a system invests in purchasing things it plans to sell, including raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods. Holding inventory ties up capital and restricts cash flow, impacting an organization’s financial health.

TOC emphasizes reducing inventory levels to free up capital and improve cash flow. Organizations can streamline their processes, reduce lead times, and optimize inventory levels by identifying and managing constraints. This enables them to respond more quickly to customer demand, reduce carrying costs, and minimize the risk of obsolescence.

By focusing on throughput, managing operating expenses, and optimizing inventory, organizations can achieve a balanced approach to maximizing profitability and operational efficiency. The Theory of Constraints provides a framework for identifying and addressing these core concepts, allowing organizations to unleash their potential and achieve sustainable success.

Five Focusing Steps: A TOC Approach to Continuous Improvement

Goldratt introduced the Five Focusing Steps as a systematic methodology for identifying and managing constraints in pursuit of continuous improvement. This approach provides a clear roadmap for organizations to optimize their processes and enhance overall performance.

1. Identify the Constraint: The first step in the Five Focusing Steps is to identify the constraint, also known as the bottleneck, that limits the system’s throughput. This constraint could be a machine, a process, a specific resource, or even a policy that impedes workflow. By identifying the constraint, organizations gain clarity on the primary factor hindering their performance.
2. Exploit the Constraint: Once the constraint is identified, the focus shifts to fully utilizing its resources and ensuring they are not wasted. This step involves making changes to scheduling, task prioritization, or workflow to maximize the output of the constraint. By exploiting the constraint, organizations can optimize its performance and increase the system’s overall throughput.
3. Subordinate Everything Else to the Above Decision: The third step emphasizes aligning the entire system to support the identified constraint. All other processes, resources, and activities should be subordinate to the constraint. This means prioritizing and coordinating non-constraint activities to support and enhance the performance of the constraint. By subordinating everything else to the constraint, organizations ensure the entire system works harmoniously to achieve the best possible results.
4. Elevate the Constraint: In some cases, exploiting the constraint may not be enough to achieve the desired level of throughput. If necessary, organizations should take steps to eliminate or elevate the constraint. This could involve investing in new equipment, technology, or infrastructure to increase the constraint’s capacity. It may also include hiring additional staff or revising policies to remove constraints that cannot be easily eliminated. Elevating the constraint allows organizations to enhance their performance further and increase their overall throughput.
5. Repeat the Process: Continuous improvement is a fundamental principle of the Theory of Constraints. Once a constraint is resolved or elevated, organizations should return to the first step and identify the next constraint in the system. This cyclical approach ensures that the organization consistently identifies and improves constraints, fostering a culture of ongoing improvement and maximizing efficiency and productivity.

By following the Five Focusing Steps, organizations can systematically analyze and address constraints, leading to continuous improvement and optimization of their processes. This methodology enables organizations to unlock their potential, improve performance, and achieve sustainable success.

The Theory of Constraints (TOC) developed by Eliyahu M. Goldratt has become a cornerstone methodology for organizations seeking to optimize their operations and drive continuous improvement. TOC focuses on identifying and managing system constraints, or bottlenecks, to improve overall performance. Through a set of tools and concepts, TOC provides a structured approach to problem-solving and process improvement.

TOC Thinking Processes: Solving Problems at the Root

One of the vital components of Goldratt’s TOC is a set of problem-solving tools known as the “Thinking Processes.” These systematic methods aim to understand and address system-level issues effectively. The essential TOC Thinking Processes include:

Current Reality Tree (CRT): The CRT is a powerful tool for identifying the root cause of undesirable effects (UDEs). By mapping out the cause-effect relationships, the CRT provides a clear and visual representation of the system’s current state and the main problems that need addressing. It helps stakeholders gain a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of various elements within the system.

Future Reality Tree (FRT): The FRT is a tool that envisions the system’s future state after implementing proposed changes. It helps predict the outcomes of different actions and allows for proactive problem-solving. The FRT serves as a roadmap to guide organizations towards their desired future state, considering proposed changes’ potential impacts and benefits.

Evaporating Cloud (Conflict Resolution Diagram): The Evaporating Cloud tool resolves conflicts or dilemmas that hinder improvement. It breaks down a conflict into its underlying assumptions, exposing those that are invalid or require change. Organizations can find creative solutions that address conflicts and enable progress by challenging and reevaluating these assumptions.

Prerequisite Tree (PRT): The PRT is a tool that identifies the necessary conditions or prerequisites for achieving desired outcomes. It helps organizations identify obstacles and determine what needs to be done to overcome them. The PRT acts as a roadmap to achieving change, outlining the conditions and action steps required to reach the desired goals.

The Role of Drum-Buffer-Rope in TOC

The Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR) is a critical solution within TOC that helps balance flow throughout the system. It ensures that work progresses smoothly, minimizing idle time and maximizing throughput. The three components of DBR are:

Drum: The drum represents the constraint or bottleneck in the system. It sets the pace for the entire process, determining the rate at which work can flow. The goal is to protect the drum and ensure it is always busy with work. Organizations can optimise the overall system performance by synchronizing the flow of work with the drum.

Buffer: The buffer is a protective mechanism placed before the drum to prevent disruptions caused by variability or uncertainties. It acts as a reserve of work-in-progress (WIP) that ensures a steady flow of tasks to the constraint. Organizations can absorb variations in demand or processing times by maintaining an appropriate buffer without affecting the constraint’s performance.

Rope: The rope ties everything together and coordinates the flow of work. It ensures that work is released into the system based on the constraint’s capacity. The rope helps optimize the overall system performance by subordinating non-constraints to the constraint. This means that all other processes and activities are aligned and coordinated to support and enhance the performance of the constraint.

TOC and Lean Manufacturing

TOC shares many principles with Lean Manufacturing, a philosophy that focuses on waste elimination and continuous improvement, and Six Sigma. This methodology aims to improve process quality by reducing variation. While Lean and Six Sigma concentrate on eliminating various types of waste, TOC primarily emphasizes managing system constraints. TOC can complement Lean Manufacturing efforts by identifying and addressing bottlenecks, optimizing system performance, and improving flow.

TOC in Project Management: Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)

TOC principles can also be applied to project management through a methodology known as Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM). Traditional project management approaches often struggle with delays, missed deadlines, and resource allocation issues. CCPM addresses these challenges by identifying the critical path, managing dependencies, and optimizing resource utilization.

In CCPM, buffers are placed strategically to protect the project’s critical chain, which consists of the tasks that determine the project’s overall duration. By managing and protecting the critical chain, CCPM aims to improve project completion time, reliability, and resource utilization.

Conclusion

Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints provides a robust framework and tools for identifying, managing, and optimizing constraints within an organization’s workflow. Organizations can unleash their potential, enhance operational efficiency, and achieve sustainable success through a systematic approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement. By applying the core concepts of TOC, organizations can achieve higher efficiency, productivity, and profitability, positioning themselves for long-term growth and competitiveness.

if you’re looking to optimize your organization’s operations, improve efficiency, and drive continuous improvement, Leadership Tribe offers a range of services and trainings that can support your goals.

Among our comprehensive offerings, Leadership & Management Training stands out as a powerful tool for empowering individuals and building high-performing teams. Through personalized coaching, Leadership Tribe can help maximize the personal and professional potential of your team members, enhancing their leadership skills and overall performance.

Start your journey towards unlocking the full potential of your organization with Leadership Tribe, contact us today!

The Art of Bridging Gaps and Building Connections: Boundary Spanning

by Krishna Chodipilli | Jun 28, 2023 | Leadership And Management

Business Process Reengineering (BPR), The ultimate guide.

by Agile Blogger | Apr 3, 2023 | Leadership And Management

Welcome to our BPR (Business Process Reengineering) ultimate guide! Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a powerful management approach that helps organizations streamline their business processes and increase efficiencies. This guide will provide you with the tools and information needed to get started with BPR and fully use its process automation capabilities. Here are three reasons why BPR is beneficial for your organization:

• BPR analyzes workflows across business functions and eliminates non-value-adding tasks, ultimately optimizing end-to-end processes
• It enhances efficiency without sacrificing quality by automating routine activities by improving the way work is done.
•  BPR allows businesses to save on costs while improving customer satisfaction levels.

By following this guide, you will be well-equipped to make BPR work for your organization. Read on to get started!

What is business process reengineering (BPR)?

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is a management approach that involves redesigning processes and tasks radically. It is also known as business transformation, business process change management, or business process redesign. It is different from business process improvement. In 1990, Michael Hammer introduced the concept of BPR in a Harvard Business Review article, “Reengineering Work: Don’t Automate, Obliterate.” In this article, Michael Hammer argued that existing PROCESSES for improving performance were inadequate. Companies must re-evaluate their processes and utilize technology to create new processes supporting business strategy. Business Process Reengineering involves techniques like process mining, process mapping, process simulation, and process automation to identify and improve processes. It also involves rethinking third-party roles or outsourcing to optimize the end-to-end process.

How does business process reengineering work?

Business Process Reengineering aims to significantly enhance quality, productivity, organization culture, and customer satisfaction. And the process begins with assessing the work required to deliver customer value. Michael Hammer and James Champy proposed seven principles for business process reengineering in their bestseller “Reengineering the Corporation: A Manifesto for Business Revolution.” The principles include:

1. organizing around outcomes rather than tasks
2. identifying all processes and prioritizing them based on redesign urgency
3. integrating information processing into real work
4. treating geographically dispersed resources as centralized
5. linking parallel activities in the workflow
6. putting the decision point where work is performed
7. capturing information once and at the source.

How Is Business Process Reengineering Implemented?

Business process redesign or reengineering is a significant change initiative. It has been popular in the business community since the 1990s. Companies often consider BPR for a total overhaul. Different experts have offered their approaches to implementing radical change. Thomas Davenport, a professor at Babson College, collaborated with Hammer before developing his approach to BPR. He has used the term “business process redesign” and emphasized the value of prototypes, simulations, and tests. In his book, “The New Industrial Engineering: Information Technology and Business Process Redesign,” co-written with James Short, Davenport laid out a five-step approach to radically changing workflow. The steps are as follows:

1. Formulate the business vision and process goals.
2. Determine the processes that require redesigning.
3. Evaluate and quantify current processes.
4. Identify IT tools and techniques to enhance the process.
5. Develop and construct a prototype of the new approach.

Another business process management expert Bhudeb Chakravarti developed a seven-step framework called INSPIRE. The INSPIRE framework is a modified version of the five-step process that includes the following seven steps:

1. Launching the BPR project and establishing the business case.
2. Obtaining approval from top management to commence the project.
3. Choosing the processes that require reengineering.
4. Planning the project’s activities and kpis.
5. Analyzing the techniques to identify potential issues.
6. Redesigning the selected methodology to enhance performance.
7. Ensuring success by closely monitoring progress.

BPR is not just about improving individual processes but rather involves a comprehensive analysis and redesign of the entire business operations, from end to end, intending to achieve significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness. Therefore, companies may need to rethink the current state of their entire business model and customer needs when embarking on BPR. Before driving business transformation and dramatic improvement initiatives like automation or standardization, the stakeholders must know the purpose of undertaking bpm. The goal of these principles is to achieve significant improvements in quality, time management, speed, and profitability. Furthermore, to keep bpr initiatives fair, transparent, and efficient, stakeholders need to have a good understanding of the critical steps involved in it.

BPR team member roles

Business Process Reengineering (BPR) involves designing a comprehensive process model for the organization. And so, BPR implementation requires a significant commitment from top executives, and it typically uses a team approach that reflects a top-down management philosophy. The team consists of a team leader, a process owner, a reengineering team, a steering committee, and a reengineering czar. The team leader role in BPR is a senior executive responsible for authorizing and overseeing the reengineering effort. The process owner is a senior-level manager responsible for managing a specific business process and assembling a team to re-engineer it. A reengineering team consists of insiders and outsiders who analyze and redesign the process. A steering committee is a group of senior managers who support restructuring and streamlining activities. They settle conflicts and assist process owners in prioritizing decisions and enhancing performance. The reengineering czar coordinates ongoing activities and develops techniques and tools to reengineer workflow. By having these team roles in place, BPR implementation can be successful. And it will lead to improvements in core business processes and competitive advantage.

What Are the Common Uses for Business Process Reengineering?

Various companies have adopted the idea of leveraging technology to achieve radical change. The media highlighted success stories of BPR in multiple companies like Union Carbide, Ford Motor Co., Taco Bell, GTE, and Bell Atlantic. As a result, consulting firms and software vendors, including SAP, Oracle, and PeopleSoft, among others, also embraced the trend. Businesses employ Business Process Reengineering to enhance the effectiveness of critical processes that impact customers. The following are the most common reasons for approaching Business Process Reengineering:

• Enhancing efficiency and productivity: Reengineering efforts help a company remove unproductive tasks, minimize cycle times, and position work in the most optimal and efficient environment.
• Streamlining teams: BPR implementation decreases the requirement for multiple management layers, expedites information flow, and prevents errors and redundancies due to multiple handoffs.
• Improving quality: Business process improvement involves standardizing and automating work processes, reducing errors, and enabling employees to focus on higher-value tasks. Which, in turn, reduces the fragmentation of work and establishes clear ownership of the processes.

Examples of business process reengineering

Many companies use business process reengineering (BPR) to improve their processes and achieve high cost and time savings. They identify inefficiencies and use technology and process improvements to streamline and optimize their operations. Additionally, they focus on improving customer service and reducing turnaround times, which results in increased efficiency and productivity. The following companies have used BPR to improve processes and save costs and time. Ford Motor Company significantly transformed its accounts payable (AP) process by shifting towards digital invoicing. It introduced an online database that monitored the entire procedure from purchase order placement to delivery and then executed payment automatically. With this shift, the company no longer required its employees to devote time to matching paper purchase orders with invoices and receiving documents. Thus, by leveraging technology to rethink its purchase process, the automotive giant reduced its AP department’s workforce by 75%. Duke Power Co. underwent business process reengineering in the 1990s to prepare for power deregulation. The reengineering process involved discovering inefficiencies and inconsistencies across Duke’s 13 geographic areas.

• Process owners were designated,
• standard measurements were developed, and
• “scorecards” were introduced

Which enabled employees to monitor their contributions towards Duke’s improved earnings and service quality business objectives. The result was reduced costs and enhanced customer service. IBM Credit Corp. used BPR to reduce the turnaround time for issuing credit from a week or more to a matter of hours. The process involved analyzing their credit issuance process from application to approval. The new turnaround time was only 90 minutes. Earlier, passing forms from one specialist department to another took time. To address this inefficiency, IBM Credit Corp. replaced specialists with generalists known as “deal structurers,” who used expert systems to manage the entire process from start to finish. Sanira Engineering, a medium-sized design engineering company, approached Leadership Tribe to help them with their business process reengineering efforts. Sanira’s leadership team struggled to meet their operational and business outcomes, and they knew they needed to make changes to prepare for business agility. Leadership Tribe thoroughly analyzed Sanira’s operations, revealing several key issues holding the company back. Some of the problems identified include:

• Poor communication between departments, which led to delays and rework
• Inefficient workflows, which caused bottlenecks and wasted time
• Inadequate training and development for staff, which resulted in low productivity and quality issues

To address these issues, Leadership Tribe developed a comprehensive plan for business process reengineering, which included the following steps:

1. Mapping current processes: Leadership Tribe worked with Sanira’s team to map out their existing business processes, from order intake to delivery, to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
2. Defining new processes: Based on the analysis of the current operations, Leadership Tribe developed new, streamlined, more efficient, and effective processes.
3. Implementing changes: Leadership Tribe worked with Sanira’s team to implement the new processes, including providing training and support to staff.
4. Monitoring and measuring performance: Leadership Tribe helped Sanira to monitor and measure their performance, including developing metrics and KPIs to track progress.

The results of the business process reengineering efforts were significant for Sanira. By improving their processes, they were able to:

• Increase their production capacity by 20%
• Improve their quality control, resulting in fewer defects and customer complaints
• Reduce their lead time by 30%
• Increase their revenue by 15%
• Improve employee morale and engagement

Sanira’s leadership team was delighted with the results and praised Leadership Tribe for their expertise and support. The business process reengineering efforts helped Sanira to achieve its goals and position them for future growth and success.

BPR and digital transformation

BPR’s focus on radical change complements process improvement approaches emphasizing incremental change, continuous improvement, and total quality management by building business agility. The advances in new technologies, such as the internet of things, cloud, and AI, have led to BPR’s popularity as a framework for digital transformation.

Conclusion

The business Process Reengineering process can enhance critical operations that impact customers. It supports increasing efficiency and productivity, streamlining teams, and improving quality. This leads to benefits such as removing unproductive tasks, minimizing cycle times, positioning work optimally, decreasing management layers, expediting information flow, reducing errors, and improving customer satisfaction and business performance. While BPR involves a comprehensive analysis and redesign of the entire business model, it is important to note that there are several approaches to implementing BPR, each with its own benefits and limitations. At Leadership Tribe, we offer a range of services that can help businesses improve their operations and achieve their goals. If you’re interested in reengineering your business processes and embracing agile methodologies, our Agile Transformation service may be the best fit for your needs. Contact us today or visit our Agile Transformation Services page to learn more about how we can help your business achieve its full potential.

Rapport Building

by Krishna Chodipilli | Feb 8, 2023 | Agile Coaching, Leadership And Management

Why do we end some calls in a few seconds but continue other conversations for over 10 minutes?

It is not about the product or service they’re selling but how the caller initiates the conversation. It’s all about whether they’re building rapport with you.

Rapport is the fundamental prerequisite for all effective communication. We can all remember situations where we had an excellent rapport with a client or colleague versus those that didn’t work so well.

How to build rapport at work

The working relationships that we develop are integral to what we accomplish professionally. Building trust and positive relationships with our team members are some of the most important things contributing to professional success.

A strong rapport between colleagues is good for team building, effective teamwork, employee engagement, productivity, and business success. But it requires effort and attention daily.

How to build rapport with colleagues

Find common ground – don’t fake an interest in something you don’t care about, but strong relationships build on some commonality of mindset, approach, or experience.

Have a genuine interest in what they’re talking and saying. That doesn’t mean agreeing with everything they say but finding a topic in which you have a shared interest.

Hone your listening skills. Good relationships involve two-way conversations. It’s natural to contribute your thoughts or experiences, but ensure you make space for your colleague to speak while actively listening.

Be prepared to share. If you want to learn something from someone or even initiate a professional relationship, you need to give something of yourself. Be ready to share some previous experiences to build trust and that all-important rapport with new colleagues. It is particularly appropriate when you need to break the ice with a new team.

How to build employee relationships

Take time to establish trust – to be trusted; you need to learn to trust your employee. Empower your employees and see how they grow, and respect them for it.

Schedule time to develop good working relationships – block that one-to-one meeting with direct reports, make time for talking, and, importantly, active listening.

Open up – people are encouraged to bring their ‘whole self’ to work, which means taking an interest in their personal life and sharing some of your own.

Start as you mean to go on – set the template for your working relationship from day one with new employees. Establish a routine of talking to them, making eye contact, and listening to what they say from the first time they work with you in their new job.

How to build rapport with a remote team

The work environment is changing, and this can mean colleagues work as a fully remote team or a hybrid model, with some days in the office and others at home or elsewhere. Talking over video retains connection, but it can affect communication skills. It’s harder to pick up on signs of body language when you’re not face-to-face, for example.

Working remotely can be harder to feel part of a team (especially as a new employee). Daily video calls help with this, as do regular check-in calls. Whether sitting next to each other in the office or speaking over a video call, good rapport comes from establishing one-to-one working relationships, building trust, and spending time together.

Establish some of the rituals that you’d have in the physical workspace. Say hello and goodbye at the start and end of the day. Enquire about their well-being. Have a coffee together and engage in a conversation. Acts like this will help with staff retention and employee engagement.

Ways to achieve rapport

The most effective communication that professionals gain rapport is by matching non-verbal behavior.

Body language: mirroring and matching

When you’re meeting a client, try to match their posture. If they move their head to one side, you can follow the same but in a way that doesn’t appear like you’re mocking them. Adjust your body to match your posture.

The tone and tempo of their voice or facial expression are some other mannerisms you can try to match.

In most conversations, we sit on the opposite side of the table. However, sitting next to each other will improve verbal expressions, positively impacting the conversation.

We’re all playing the role of a salesperson wanting to engage with the other person. We must be consciously aware of this and make it part of our muscle memory.

Contact our knowledgeable team to find out more about rapport building.

REFERENCE: CHARLES FAULKNER & STEVE ANDREAS – NLP THE NEW TECHNOLOGY OF ACHIEVEMENT

Effective leadership in crisis

by Krishna Chodipilli | Feb 7, 2023 | Leadership And Management

Once again, we are looking at a very uncertain and unsettling future. These are unpredictable times. We face a recession – a crisis in itself. But it comes on the back of the global COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented public health crisis and its implications. Just as introducing a coronavirus vaccination seemed to be lessening the healthcare crisis, we saw the war on Ukraine begin. Add to that some questionable decision-making that led to a cost-of-living crisis, frontline workers striking, and natural disasters wreaking havoc. We are undeniably in times of crisis.

What is crisis leadership?

Successful business leaders are praised for their vision and communication skills. Visionary planning is an admirable leadership skill driving an organization toward its goals. However, in times of crisis, a clear vision is less valuable.

Influential leaders must adopt crisis management strategies – reassurance, resilience, clear thinking, and uniting team members. In a crisis, the best leaders need an action plan for holding or containing the situation (according to the Harvard Business Review). Their good communication skills are still crucial in crisis response. They can interpret and convey what’s happening to stakeholders. But instead of looking at a big-picture vision, crisis leaders need to focus on a more short-term response plan.

What are the significant factors in crisis leadership?

Trained soldiers are accustomed to operating under conditions of extreme uncertainty and risk. It is known that not a single mission shall go as per the plan. We know planning is essential, but adapting the plan with new learning is much more critical.

How do soldiers develop this resilient mindset? What kind of leadership style enables them to be so determined? How do they create psychological safety confined in a bunker or trench? How do they tame chaos?

Here are ten attributes of military leader that makes them persevere in facing the odds:

1. Fear is contagious: Military leaders, irrespective of rank or service, are trained to distinguish between the hope of success and fear of failure. They, too, have doubts and apprehensions but are aware that anxiety is highly contagious. Their crisis communication needs to negate feelings of unfounded fear.
2. Invest in relationships: The investment in building ‘esprit de corps’ during ‘peacetime’ pays rich dividends during the conflict. Each soldier is exceptional and shares a personal bond with their leaders in the chain of command. These relationships improve well-being and are a motivating source.
3. Value empathy: “Empathy without sympathy is dangerous; sympathy without empathy is blind.” A leader who sympathizes with his troops in a crisis has killed the warrior in them. Emotional intelligence will help leaders to operate from the cognitive function of Empathy, not the emotional charge of Sympathy.
4. Ordinary people, extraordinary results: Seemingly normal people display acts of bravery and astute courage during times of crisis. This is because a military leader knows that every person is a warrior, irrespective of their role, position, or status. The leader allows team members to take that leap of faith and calculated risks.
5. Avoid being popular: Popularity is for the masses (think social media followers, for example). Military leaders do not lead random groups of people; they show skilled professionals. In a crisis, your popularity doesn’t matter; your competence does.
6. Be honest: Tough times call for authentic communication and straight talk. Military leaders use their communication channels to convey the harsh realities of the immediate future through detailed personal briefings and carefully crafted written orders. They believe in being brief, concise, and to the point, leaving no room for doubt or concern. Clear communication leaves no room for interpretation. This builds trust and leadership credibility.
7. Ration thoughts and feelings: The impact of a careless word uttered in a highly emotionally charged scenario can be hazardous. Military leaders are mindful of their personal views and opinions and seldom let them be known to others. They honor the rank and will not sully it with careless and irresponsible behavior.
8. Stand for the unit: The military has little respect for individual acts of bravado and heroism. However, it respects those who stand unwavering for their teams and departments. Taking a stand for others first, always, and every time is the only mantra for every military leader.
9. Live the present: Military personnel does not know how to quit. They do not get disappointed by past events or potential future crises. They operate from the present moment. They are accustomed to failing since that is the only way they get to succeed. They live the outcomes they visualize, each moment, each day. They never wait for the future. It concerns the present moment and how to wrestle the best out of it.
10. Train hard: “The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war.” This adage is drilled into the DNA of every military personnel during training. The training is vigorous, unsettling, and severe, but with a purpose. Every military leader knows that a day in peace wasted is a week of regret in combat.

The army is a time-tested organization that operates in VUCA conditions as a routine. For them, uncertainty is reality. They do not give in to unsolicited information, false misrepresentations, and self-doubt. They have robust processes and values. They follow a common ideology. They consider upholding human values and preserving humanity as their primary mission. 

We are now facing a crisis of recession that follows hot on the heels of the COVID-19 crisis. Our future is still being determined. Let us learn from the best leaders in the armed forces, from their spirit of resilience and courage. Let us not fuel conflict by reacting to perceived knowledge rather than fact. Let us not create chaos and conflicts inside our heads. Let us not allow circumstances and conditions to overcome us, our families, and our organizations. Let us allow the warriors in us to emerge. This is the perfect time for that. Each of us owes this to our people and our country.

 Contact our knowledgeable team to find out more about effective leadership in crisis.