The Challenge

For years, leadership pundits, authors, teachers, and experts have created complex and often too detailed job descriptions that confuse a leader as to what his or her ultimate role is within an organization. In the last chapter, I presented three areas where leaders tend to overmanage so that you may become more aware of when you're off track in vital leadership responsibilities. In the vein of keeping it simple (after all, it's not rocket science), I want to break those three roles down into one simple word that I believe may be the best one-word definition of a leader's role within an organization—catalyst.

The Leader as a Catalyst!

The dictionary defines catalyst as “a person or thing that precipitates an event or change” (Dictionary.com, n.d.). Rarely does such an economy of words so accurately describe the expected role of a leader day in, day out. The bottom line is this: Leaders get paid to execute and to make things happen both personally and through each team member. No high-value leader goes to work each day to wait for something to happen, to watch it happen, or to wonder at day's end, “What happened?” Unfortunately, many low-value leaders routinely perform in this manner, by waiting until time is about to run out to find some heart, guts, or urgency or demonstrate true leadership (stretching, staying in the trenches, and changing before they have to). In fact, many organizations are burdened with at least one or two pretenders with titles, who we can only assume jumped into the leadership gene pool while the lifeguard wasn't looking. These cultural infections will eventually destroy your organization if you let them.

Some Rocket Science Is Helpful

I apologize if you feel misled by my insertion of just a tad bit more rocket science. After all, this book's title implied that rocket science is not necessary to master the art of execution (MAX). However, in addition to the Second Law of Thermodynamics I introduced earlier, I'd like to add another law of physics that when understood and applied, can greatly aid us in our role to act as a daily catalyst.

Sir Isaac Newton's First Law of Motion: Objects in motion tend to stay in motion; objects at rest tend to stay at rest.

Considering this law, you can easily substitute the words team members for objects to see how this law is routinely lived out in an average organization on days when there is little structure, urgency, or accountability.

As a reminder, considering the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the leaders must assume the role of the “outside energy” necessary to cause activity, momentum, and results to wind up in an organization on the days when people are naturally inclined to wind down. Acting as this catalytic energy is natural once you install the MAX system within your culture. Every day energy is created when you increase focus on the ultimate few objectives (TUFs) and daily MAX acts, MAP your results on the MAX board, conduct daily rhythm of accountability meetings (RAMs), and continue to prune in pursuit of execution optimization. Remember, too, that every day means every day (EDMED)! Recalling the stretching, leading in the trenches, and changing before you have to strategies listed in the last chapter, consider weaving these two disciplines into your daily routine to infuse positive energy consistently:

1. Conduct leadership wander-arounds periodically during the day. Schedule time to put aside the paperwork and engage in people work, by regularly getting in the trenches to observe, coach, support, ask questions, listen, give feedback, pat backs, provide corrective redirection, and engage team members and customers alike. You cannot expect to create energy and make positive things happen relying strictly on e-mails, texts or other technology.
2. Schedule and consistently conduct one-on-one coaching sessions. These developmental disciplines give you the chance to listen to, coach, reinforce, focus, and challenge each team member individually. One-on-ones should be scheduled on your calendar and conducted distraction-free. I provide an effective five-step process for conducting one-on-ones in my book Up Your Business (John Wiley & Sons 2007). You may also wish to take our online course for developing others, offered at www.learntolead.com.

Five Key Questions

I will conclude with five quick questions to assess your effectiveness as a daily leadership catalyst in your organization:

• Daily, are you more prone to think, “What can I make happen for my team today?” or “I wonder what the team will do today”?
• What percentage of your day do you spend with stuff versus people?
• How much energy, urgency, and momentum exist in your organization early on in the month, quarter, year, or season, when there may not be as much pressure as when time is running out?
• Are you leaving your people better than you found them, and if so, how much of their growth can be attributed to your personal involvement as their leader and coach?
• If I joined your team today, could you show me the following in writing: your vision, mission, and core values; as well as my performance expectations daily, weekly, and monthly?

Parting Thought

Any deficient answers to these questions can comprise your blueprint for stepping up your role as a daily leadership catalyst. See? It's not rocket science—okay, except for Newton's First Law of Motion and the Second Law of Thermodynamics.