{"id":6897,"date":"2020-07-03T07:15:42","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T12:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottcochrane.com\/?p=6897"},"modified":"2020-07-03T07:15:42","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T12:15:42","slug":"3-leadership-tools-that-can-produce-disastrous-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/03\/3-leadership-tools-that-can-produce-disastrous-results\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Leadership Tools That Can Produce Disastrous Results"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In\nleadership, as in life, using the right tool in the wrong way, or at the wrong\ntime, can do more harm than good.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever tried to tighten a\nflat-head screw using a Phillips screwdriver? Or what about trying to remove a\nlug nut with the wrong sized lug wrench?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might have a great tool, but\nusing it in the wrong way, or at the wrong time, just won’t work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true in leadership.\nChoosing a great leadership tool, but applying it in the wrong way or at the\nwrong time, could be counter-productive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are three of the most common\ntools found in the arsenals of most leaders. Each has a positive purpose, but\neach has the potential of limiting your leadership effectiveness too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.\nThe Strategic Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every leader should develop a\nstrategic plan in order to achieve the goal, and the plan should be followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being overly bound to the plan can\nthwart creativity and can limit the exploration of new, fresh ideas. Sometimes\nthe breakthrough idea you need is to be found just outside the parameters of\nyour carefully devised plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have a plan. Follow the plan. But\ndon\u2019t be restricted by the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.\nThe Organization Chart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effective leaders place strong\nemphasis on creating comprehensive organization charts, and they make sure\neveryone knows their place within the chart. In his groundbreaking book, The\nFour Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive,<\/em> Patrick Lencioni\nemphasizes that leaders must always reinforce organizational clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tools like organization charts\nreally matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can be a short walk from \u201cKnow\nyour place in the organization\u201d, to \u201cDon\u2019t help or support team members from\nother parts of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t allow the org chart to limit\ncontributions throughout the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.\nThe Job Description<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone wants to know what is\nexpected of them, and the trusty job description is a fine tool for\naccomplishing that noble task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An obsessively-held job description\ncan turn a team member from \u201cAll for one, and one for all\u201d into \u201cthat\u2019s not in\nmy job-description\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job descriptions matter. But don\u2019t\nlet them limit your contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of these tools are important in\nyour leadership. So learn to apply them in the right way, at the right time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Otherwise\nyou could feel like you\u2019re hammering a nail with a screwdriver.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In leadership, as in life, using the right tool in the wrong way, or at the wrong time, can do more harm than good. Have you ever tried to tighten a flat-head screw using a Phillips screwdriver? Or what about trying to remove a lug nut with the wrong sized lug wrench? You might have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,738,478,7,1020,744],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-action","category-effectiveness-2","category-featured","category-leadership","category-problems","category-team-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6897"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6899,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6897\/revisions\/6899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottcochrane.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}