CIO — Scale affects everything from the physical universe to the man-made construction of systems most of us are involved in. Why shouldn’t it apply to leadership? Leading a very small team is fundamentally different from leading a very large global corporation. Successful careers are a progression from one scale of leadership to another, whether it’s up the ladder to the top of the corporate hierarchy or out and down to captain a startup.
The truth is, most great leaders are challenged to show leadership at both ends of the scale all the time. Small-scale leadership may be what you use with your management team, while large-scale leadership is what you need with your department, business unit or company. To use a sailing analogy, good captains have to be able to demonstrate handling skills in both small and large boats, depending on the need. In my experience, I find that I am most successful at leadership in my own business when I consciously shift gears between leading on a small or a large scale.
So what factors make a real difference in adapting your leadership to scale? Throughout my career, I’ve led very small efforts like startup businesses and special projects to very large-scale efforts like major government reforms that would ultimately affect millions of people. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
At The High End: Large-Scale Leadership
Set Direction. Setting the vision, missions and strategies for a large organization requires not only simplicity and clarity but also a sense of the helm. Just as if you were steering a large ocean liner or tanker, you need to get the lay of the land, look farther out ahead, plan your turns and account for delays in responsiveness. Large organizations, like large vessels, just don’t turn on a dime. I spent more than three years helping to lead a major government reform effort. During this time, I made sure to clarify the ultimate destination and the roadmap well in advance, and used them consistently to guide discussions about vision and strategy. The vision was simple, and the many others involved in the effort could articulate it in their own words without changing the meaning. We still faced tactical situations that required adjustments, but the overall goal and path didn’t change.
Design and Delegate. Work has to be structured, accountability defined and responsibility delegated until you’ve got the right people in place to support your scale of work. As a leader, you need to define the organizational architecture, including your core team, the company, suppliers and business partners. Get the right people and companies in place, and then get out of the way as quickly as possible. If you don’t figure out how to get out of the way and still get all the work done, you’ll run aground very quickly. One of the first things I figure out when leading a very large-scale transformation effort is who the key players are, how to get them on board and how to make sure they succeed and get credit for the effort.
