Leadership is like engineering. You need to start with why.
Understanding user problems is essential in order to address them. These principles of why and what is also applicable to management, particularly in turbulent times.
Leaders must rally around the why of their mission in times of uncertainty. It is easy to forget the why, even when it is crucial to take decisive action. But it is vital to steer the business’s course. The why explains what must be done and how it can all be achieved. The why gives everyone a sense of purpose. Friedrich Nietzsche said He who has something to live for can bear almost all how.
My perspective on leadership over the past decade has been shaped by one simple mantra. It is inspired by Simon Sinek’s book, Start with Why. As an engineer, it was essential to start with why when tackling new products or features. Understanding the pain points and setting success criteria meant that we had to start with why. We could then define the functionality required (the what), and create a plan to develop the product (the how). These same principles were important to me as a leader. They also apply to management in times of turmoil. London-Post.
My company was one of many that faced the effects of a global pandemic. We had to reevaluate our criteria and determine what success meant for us, both short-termly and long-term. It became clear that our purpose was to empower data engineers to build smart data pipelines to solve the most complex analytics problems of our time. We were able to clarify our purpose and our why. This led to us retooling the what throughout the company. From our go-to-market strategy to our product roadmap to our investment model. This allows us to weather any storm.
Leaders: Before you solve for uncertainty within your industry or company, get together with your team to discuss why you are there. Ask yourself, Why will you succeed? This will help you decide what is most important right now and what your long-term goals are. These three key principles will help you reaffirm your belonging, reaffirm your values and keep your company and your leaders on the right track.
The why is a powerful tool to anchor your company and your team
Your strategy is worthless if all of your employees believe it. My co-founder and I started our company in the same way. We focused on strategy for three months before hiring our first employee. Although it was difficult to work, we came to the conclusion that data engineering would be the key to modernizing business intelligence. DataOps was the preferred practice for data engineers. This was the foundation of our activities for many years. We made many opportunistic product- and go-to-market decisions as we grew, but they weren’t always in line with our why.
The macroeconomic uncertainty caused us to think more strategically about where we should invest our resources and energy when the pandemic struck. First, we had to be clear about our views and make sure it was different. There is no consensus in the industry about the fundamental value of data engineering. Others may view it as a bit of work for an application engineer. Some may view it as a minor obstacle to the more important task, which is data science. Others may view this as a design-time engineering issue rather than a complete life-cycle problem. It’s OK! Although we don’t have the ability to change everyone’s mindset if employees don’t believe in our way then they might not be a good fit for the company.
Ground leaders and their teams should always remember the why when executing a plan or vision. When you face a problem, lack of confidence, or differing opinions, remember the why. Your teams will stay focused on the end goal, regardless of the difficulties they face.
Be at ease with the what without being unanimous
The focus on results is what we do every day. Simply put, I ask myself and others What should be done? What should we do? and Are you achieving it?
Because there are many ways to solve a problem, what is often not obvious is difficult to see. It is important and helpful to hear all perspectives on a team. However, leaders must make a decision because there are only so many ways to achieve one goal. This presents a challenge to leaders who must choose the best solution and work together to achieve consensus. There will always be contrarians. Encourage them to try things and then commit to revisiting your decision every so often to make sure it was the right one. Twitter.
What can appear especially blurred in times of change is a sign of uncertainty. Leaders need to remain decisive during these times. We had to react quickly when faced with the pandemic. My belief that leaders must respond to immediate needs and be open to the possibility of future changes in their organization led me to take action. Being an engineer is about being flexible and open to changing your plans as new opportunities or obstacles present themselves. These obstacles can be budget constraints, preparing for new industry conditions, prioritizing key results, and preparing for budgeting limitations.
Do not tell your team how to do it.
Good leaders don’t specify the how. If you set out the way to success, you take responsibility for someone else’s success. They are actually the ones who implement the how and get the job done. This situation could lead to an employee approaching a task in a different way than they would normally because they are copying the leader’s approach. They will not be able to make decisions for themselves when faced with uncertainty.
Leaders should instead be focused on the why, and not the what. You can stay grounded in your strategy and the goals you want to achieve, but not micromanage the execution process. Leave that up to your teams. Leaders who stay clear of execution allow teams to be more creative.
StreamSets is a company that supports data engineers. Our product team has created monthly releases that focus on the features and user experiences data engineers love. Our marketing team interviewed data engineers to provide them with all the resources they needed. The sales team taught the champions how to empower the entire data team. The customer success team created a new Academy that offers self-directed training. Our employees worked together to be innovative while addressing the pandemic’s challenges and remaining true to their why.
This type of innovation, the freedom to decide the how is crucial because it helps you achieve your why. It is amazing how employees can come up with new ideas and devise strategies to help a project. People are drawn to the why, but not the how.
The why-what-how framework has helped me to guide my leadership style throughout my career as well as my tenure as CEO. It reminds me that I must start with the big picture, then draw on my engineering background to help me think critically about our goals, and then arm my employees with all the tools they need in order to reach them. You become more productive with what and smarter with how. But it all depends on the why.
