If you have been reading my articles over the years, you will notice a sharp contrast between leadership and authority. That is because society tends to assume that a position of authority is leadership. However, that is not true.
Leadership is an activity, not a position. Leadership may involve people in positions of authority (it often does), but formal authority is not a prerequisite for leadership. If we accept that anyone can lead anytime, anywhere - then we can accept that the responsibility for change within our organizations falls on more than just those with formal authority (i.e CEOS, managing partners, Presidents, Mayors, Pastors, etc.).
With all of the above being said, when it comes to entrenched issues, authority alone will not be enough to solve the issues.
Here's what I mean:
How many organizations do you know that have entrenched issues like working in silos, or being unable to complete projects on time? How about rifts between departments? Or even struggling with sustainable income streams?
All of these examples have likely been addressed in the past by those in charge. If those issues still persist, then the issue is not the amount of authority they wield - it is the lack of effective leadership being exercised by the organization as a whole.
You can give one person or a department unlimited authority within the organization to "get things done" - however, if they lack the capacity to lead, then the implementation of any solution will likely fail at some point.
That is why it is important to understand that leadership on entrenched challenges looks like the work of the many, not the few (or the one).
So how do you approach an entrenched challenge? Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
(1) Keep the challenge at the center, not the people involved. It is very easy to assume one person, or team or one department is responsible for the entrenched issue. When departments have a rift between each other, it would be easy to say "its their mess." But the truth is, it is everyone's mess. Putting the challenge at the center means shifting focus from "it's their fault" to "how did the system contribute to this?" Depersonalize the issue, and make it the responsibility of the many over the few in the organization; after all, it is going to take the many to make progress on an entrenched challenge like this!
(2) Do not assume you know the challenge well enough...yet! It may seem obvious that one of your departments has siloed off the workflow from the rest of the organization. But how well do you know what is going on? When did it begin? How is the work being siloed? Why does this department silo work off, when others do not? Spend as much time in diagnosing the problem as possible - that way, you can come up with multiple interpretations versus just jumping on the first and/or most obvious one to act on.
(3) Build the informal authority with the stakeholders in the challenge. This may be difficult for you if you are the head of the organization, or hold any upper-level position of authority. You assume the authority you have can solve issues within your organization (and so do those who report to you) - but the fact is, entrenched issues require you to build informal authority to truly have the power to change. People may report to you - but they certainly do not have to like you, admire you, or respect you; those attributes are things you need to build and maintain when exhibiting leadership.
(4) Talk with key stakeholders - ask them questions with curiosity and understanding as the goal. First, identify who those key stakeholders are. In the case of a siloed department, consider talking to the department manager, and some of their direct reports (especially those reports who have clout within and outside the department). Talk with other departments who work with the siloed department on a daily basis. Talk with whoever may be lateral or above you who has skin in the game. In short, talk with key stakeholders you may have little to no formal or informal authority over.
Then, ask these stakeholders - what keeps them from changing the status quo? What do they stand to lose if they change? Ask these tough, but important questions with the goal of being curious versus judgmental. Look for a goal of understanding over acceptance and agreement.
Here's the takeaway:
Treating an entrenched issue like it is a software update or an accounting error is not going to get the job done. Having authority is simply not enough. Entrenched challenges involve the complexity of people, and people require the action of leadership to make progress.
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