Leaders Need to D.I.S.C.onnect for Results

Many are questioning the state of leadership today. It’s no secret that the constant struggle in Washington has led to a disconnect between the governing and the governed. Less visibly, companies can find themselves with the same challenge between senior management and the employee base, at the very time they need to pull together to improve results. From my experience as a President of multiple companies focused on turnarounds, the biggest opportunity for leaders today may be our choice to connect the pieces that have been traditionally disconnected. In fact, I developed and deployed a successful strategy to D.I.S.C.onnect for results.

In my judgment, conventional thinking is no longer acceptable.

  1. Conventional thinking disconnects management and leadership. “Managers do the right things, while leaders do things right. Manage things and lead people.”
  2. Conventional thinking disconnects professional and personal pieces of an individual’s life. “It’s just business.”
  3. Conventional thinking disconnects the value of looking for guidance from personal reflection (feeling, thinking) as opposed to taking action (speaking, writing, acting) or relying exclusively on the opinions of others.
  4. Conventional thinking disconnects the power of ALL of the potential impact of the leaders in an organization from the impact of those few at the top.

Personally, I have had lots of success with connected leadership. I developed an All-In Leadership Roadmap when I ran organizations and needed to unlock the potential of all of my leaders. In each case, the key to success was a roadmap that included a focus on actions and attributes, and a D.I.S.C.onnect approach for connected leadership.

Specifically, the roadmap CONNECTS sets of choices, including Discipline, Insight, Support, and Creativity, and asks leaders to self assess their actions and their attributes in these areas. In my experience, the roadmap has led to increased engagement, results, resilience, and the development of cultures where people excel. These include employees, customers, partners, owners, and the communities in which companies do business—which, in fact, are all connected. Here are the highlights:

Discipline starts with a vision. Who are we and what do we stand for? It is followed by a strategic and plan to accomplish that vision. After we plan the work, we work the plan. Discipline is required to build trust. A key to connected leadership is the added focus on the importance of adjustments. Rather than solely relying on strong central control over decision-making, a connected leader will decentralize decision-making and build appropriate controls to make sure the organization has rapid response capabilities to make critical adjustments. While discipline does not guarantee complete control, it improves the probability of success.

Insight starts with self-understanding. A connected leader understands who they are and what they stand for. With all the change that surrounds businesses today, employees are looking for leaders who are reliable and confident in themselves. These leaders can integrate information that comes from others with their gut instincts and trust their own voice. They find that voice when they are focused, present, accepting, generous, and grateful. Connected leaders also understand the downside to the popular concept of multi-tasking. They understand that by devoting all of their focus to a given individual, true communication be enhanced and relationships will be strengthened.

Support for others is effective only after we truly understand their needs. It starts by listening to understand and learn from everyone and every opportunity. A connected leader is always willing to accept the input of others. It can be challenging for leaders who view their role to be confident, clear, concise, convincing, and compelling to also be open at all times to input, but it is an absolutely necessary component of connected leadership. It also includes questioning, inspiring, encouraging, enabling, and role modeling for others.

Creativity is at its fullest for each of us and is unleashed when we connect what we do to who we are. Specifically, when we connect our internal creativity (feelings and thoughts) to our external creativity (our written and spoken words and our actions) we dramatically increase both our effectiveness and our positive influence over others. Connected leaders know their words matter. They connect their email language with the words they use in everyday conversations. These leaders are also able to integrate their personal and professional roles and remain true to themselves and what they believe in.

Finally, the D.I.S.C.onnect strategy is underpinned by a strong focus on the core values of an organization. Whether a connected leader is engaged in managing or guiding others, values are visible in word and action. Truth, respect, teamwork, equality, service, and connection are among sets of values followed by many successful organizations today. Values become the ultimate glue that holds great organizations together when everything else changes.

The bottom line is when leaders choose to connect that which has traditionally been disconnected, amazing things can happen. Most significantly, the potential of leaders at all levels in any organization is released. When applied to a company where results have been going in the wrong direction, it leads to a successful turnaround. When applied to companies already going in the right direction, results improve and resilience grows.

Who knows what could happen if a D.I.S.C.onnect approach was introduced in Washington? Perhaps it is time for our leaders to try the unconventional.