The TLT Leader: Are you best at innovation or operations?

The more you talk about end-users, the more your colleagues will think about end-users. Finally, you will find that your colleagues do not need 1-1 meetings with you – and that day is a day of victory.

In recent years I have talked a lot about Tight Loose Tight: leadership where you do not control your employees but give them room to control themselves, while you spend time understanding customers and end-users, support engaging purpose, and learn from iterative development.

From control to coaching

When I returned from leadership training and an employee asked how to solve a problem, I asked what he would have done – and he had already reached the same conclusion. He left with more authority. Yet he had come because he knew I liked to be in control. The secret is to stop controlling colleagues; they should follow end-users and solve their challenges.

Value focus vs activity focus

At CoWork we help customers move from activity-oriented management driven by loyalty and control, to cultures that learn what end-users like. Before agile transformation at FINN.no, 40% of technical solutions were unused; other customers report up to 70%.

We call control-focused companies activity-focused, and user-oriented companies value-focused. Decisions should be rooted in value focus. Examples: Does your analytics department strengthen decisions? Does architecture become more flexible? Does the web team ship features users touch? Does HR increase motivation?

Ambidextrous organisations

Master both value and activity management, but spend as little time as possible on activity management when customers report faults. The digital factory – automation of solved problems – frees capacity for new challenges. Americans call such organisations ambidextrous: mastering governance and innovation at the same time.

TLT is central to how NAV, Telenor and others work with value leadership. Contact rune@cowork.no if you want to discuss how we can help your organisation.