Leadership Influence Opportunity: Keep it Simple & Impactful

Our job as leaders is to influence.  People, processes, outcomes.  We are paid to influence them all. One way to enhance our ability to influence is to focus on how we deliver solutions. Another way is to focus on what we deliver.

All day long we're charged with the responsibility of finding solutions.  Often the solutions are hard to come by, just as often they are complex.  More often than not, however there are simple solutions out there, and often these simple solutions can help put us in the best position to handle the more complex ones.  And these simple & impactful solutions will help us to be more effective when we need to influence.   

There is so much to be gained by offering solutions that are easy to use.  You don’t get any points for making something so complex that your stakeholders will never use it.  Or if they are forced to use it, they won’t use it the way you intend because you or your team have made it more complicated than it needs to be.  Why would anyone want to deliver overly complicated solutions?  This is business!  We’re in the business of making things that people can actually use. 

So, as we work through our day, one of the most effective disciplines we can practice is to have a constant mindset to be looking for the most simple and effective solution to the issues that are offered up to us.  If we automatically look to find the easy-button, then we can often find it.  I find myself conjuring up the image of the easy button several times, most days.  It helps me work effectively through most days and helps me maintain a reputation with my business partners as a leader who helps them find the right solutions.  It also helps keep me sane along the way.  

That doesn’t mean that the easy solution is always the best one, or that it will always be easy to find the easy button.  It simply means that, when we establish a mindset to explore simple solutions, then everyone benefits.  

Think about it, if you are overwhelmed or frustrated when everything you run across is complicated, then how do you think your team feels.  How do you think your clients and your business partners feel.  If you are always on the giving end of hard-to-manage or overly-complicated tasks, people are going to feel overwhelmed.  And you may find that your coworkers will start to find ways to avoid you or get around you or find ways to beg off requests from you.  

On the other hand, it will be to your benefit if you earn a reputation for making it easy to do business with. When you are faced with issues that are more complex and challenging, then your team and clients and business partners will be more willing to work through the complexities and understand that the issue is truly one that leans more complicated. 

Another reason for keeping it as simple as we can is that, more often than we think, simple is more effective.  If we can help package an issue and turn around and help make it easier for our team, clients, and business partners to deliver on it, then not only will it get delivered quicker, but you will probably deliver better.  If there are fewer steps in the process or fewer cooks in the kitchen, it will more often than not get delivered with fewer errors.  And it the solution will be one that makes more sense.

So, where you can, keep it simple & impactful.

Quote from my favorite GM:
“Hey, we’re not doin’ rocket surgery here."