Some people thrive in complexity, but most work to avoid it. This is evident in our constant attempt to pretend we can build high-performing teams by mastering a single discipline. Even though this fails to produce the necessary results every time, it’s easier to tell ourselves the next shiny new object will be the silver bullet we need to deliver winning outcomes.
The irony of this is that we are surrounded by examples that teach us that success requires multiple tools or disciplines working in concert to produce winning results. An orchestra all playing the same instrument would be flat. Skyscrapers would never make it to the sky, and business wouldn’t run. We need sales, marketing, finance, operations, engineering, etc … to get a product to market and ensure we are continually improving customer satisfaction.
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail"
– Abraham Maslow.
As Leaders, we need to master the discipline of leadership, and the tools that our team members will need to use to drive the outcomes our business needs to thrive. Businesses will always have two types of work. Work that requires dedicated teams focused on the constant improvement of their domain, and mission teams that form across an organization to deliver an outcome greater than anyone team could alone. Both types of work environments require disciplines of Transformational Leadership, Product Leadership, Operations Leadership, Organizational Change Leadership, Enterprise Project Leadership, Project Team Demand Leadership, and Program & Portfolio Leadership.