Strategic Leadership: Managing Things and Leading People

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Computer History Museum via Yale News

Nobody could have said it better than Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (or “Amazing Grace” as she was called). Concerning the difference between management and leadership, she said “You manage things; you lead people.”

Admiral Hopper (1906–1992) was a true pioneer of the 20th Century. Not only was she one of the first women to become a flag officer in the Navy, she was also instrumental in developing one of the first computer languages (COBOL) — which is still used today. She coined the term “debugging” (often used to refer to fixing computer code errors) one evening in 1945 when her and a colleague took apart a broken computer only to find a large moth inside. Thus, the computer was literally “debugged.”[1, 2]

Admiral Hopper was nothing short of extraordinary. Her work laid the foundation for the very computers we are using today. Yet, when asked what her greatest accomplishment was, she responded proudly, “all the young people I’ve trained over the years.”[2]

Management

I am often surprised by how few leaders apply Admiral Hopper’s maxim. Most leaders have a large amount of things on their plate each day and often only deal with people on a transactional basis. That is, their primary motivation for interacting with subordinates is to require something of them. Those leaders are attempting to manage the demands of their day and as a result they are managing everything and everyone in it.

That approach is sure to do one thing, make people not want to work for those leaders anymore. People are smart and can quickly realize when a leader has their best interests at heart, and likewise when a leader doesn’t.

Admiral Hopper had it right. Leaders do have high demands on them each day. But those demands are things — not people. Things are managed by setting priorities, keeping effective schedules, developing systems and protocols, and equipping and empowering teams to take on tasks.

This post would not be complete without some practical tips on how to apply Admiral Hopper’s timeless maxim “You manage things; you lead people”. The following are personal “lessons learned” that have served me well over the years; I hope they are as useful to you as they have been to me.

5 Tips on Managing Things:

• Wake up early! The most productive part of our day are those early hours before the rest of the world gets up and moving. During this precious uninterrupted time, we can settle in with a cup of coffee or tea and fully concentrate on the day. Our brains are at their best after a full night’s sleep and so are we, enabling us to do some of our best work.
• Make a list, daily. A CIA study showed that people can only remember about six things at a time in their short-term memory.[3] That means with the myriad of tasks that barrel at us each day we are bound to forget something unless we make a list. Making lists puts us at an advantage. Not only does it free up our short-term memory for creative tasks and problem-solving, it also enables us to visualize and prioritize our day.
• Do your most difficult task first. It has been said that if you “eat a live frog first thing in the morning… nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”[4] Starting out with our most difficult task, not only gets that “frog” out of the way, it sets us free to be fully present in our day.
• Apply the five-minute rule. Most of us have a tendency to put off small tasks because they seem like they will take us off track. This rationale makes sense at first glance, I used to think that way too. However, after many years of leading large teams and projects, I realized that putting off small tasks actually makes us less productive. This is because most small tasks can be completed in five minutes or less — responding to an email, reviewing a document, etc. Putting off these small tasks causes us to miss out on quick victories and immediate results. That is why I apply a five minute rule to small tasks, if it can be completed in five minutes or less then I knock it out immediately, if not, then I write it down.
• Know how and when to delegate. No leader can do everything. Part of managing tasks is knowing which ones to do personally and which ones to delegate to others. As a general rule, if you have too much on your plate and someone else can do the job at least 80 percent as good as you, then you should delegate it.

Leadership

People on the other hand are not managed, but led. At bottom, people want to know that they are valued by an organization and that its leader has their best interests at heart. This is the starting place for every leader; without trust people simply will not follow you.

People also need to be given a vision (or clear picture) of what the organization is trying to accomplish and how they fit into it. Leadership is not managing the demands of each day, it is taking people in a direction.

Admiral Hopper’s direction was to revolutionize the way people interacted with computers. Such a goal required people to be comfortable with a rapid pace of change and willing to constantly try out new ideas and approaches.

People do not naturally embrace things that are untested and uncertain, but because of Admiral Hopper’s leadership, many people followed her.

The difference between Admiral Hopper and an average leader is that she understood a fundamental concept, you manage things and you lead people, and that made all the difference in her career.

5 Tips on Leading People

• Build trust first. Trust is reason someone will follow you. Without trust you cannot lead. Many leaders make the mistake of moving forward on a policy or objective without first establishing trust with their subordinates — inviting high turnover, lackluster buy-in, and poor results. To establish trust, we must show others that we have their best interests at heart and that we are capable to lead them.
• Identify what matters. In every organization there are certain things that everyone must buy into to be successful. Could you imagine if McDonald’s said they were not going to provide fast service, or if Google said they were not going to promote innovation? These companies would certainly not be where they are today (if still in business at all). In every organization, we need to identify what that “thing” is that sets us apart and makes us successful, then, we need to help others to believe in it and live it out each day.
• Walk in their shoes. Few people will do something because it is important to you, but most people will do something if it is important to them. If we want others to believe in the vision of our organization, we need to try to see things from their perspective and show them how our vision benefits them — whether its a pay raise, bonus, belief in the cause, the camaraderie of the team, or something else.
• Over-communicate. Leaders often make the mistake not communicating enough with the people in their organization. It is surprising how much morale increases when people feel like they are “in the loop” on organizational decisions. In every decision, people want to know that their opinions and thoughts were heard (not necessarily implemented, but just heard). Also, morale increases when people feel confident that they know what is expected of them and receive feedback when they meet those expectations. The most underused and cost-effective bonus in the world is a rightly deserved compliment.
• Develop your people. It is our job as leaders to ensure that people are growing and becoming better each day. Whether someone has 30 years experience or is a brand new hire, all of us have knowledge to share and room to grow. New hires invigorate organizations with fresh perspectives and emerging skills, while, experienced personnel convey efficient approaches and expertise. In our role as leaders, we must ensure that everyone has a platform to share their knowledge with others and that outside courses and trainings are available to employees, making them more valuable assets to the organization.

References:

1. “USS Hopper (DDG 70) Named for Rear Admiral “Amazing” Grace Hopper,” PublicNavy.mil, accessed 12 November 2017, http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ddg70/Pages/namesake.aspx#.Wf_GB5OnFQI.
2. “Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992): A legacy of innovation and service” Yale News, 10 February 2017, https://news.yale.edu/2017/02/10/grace-murray-hopper-1906-1992-legacy-innovation-and-service.
3. Heuer, Richards J. Psychology of Intelligence Analysis. Washington D.C.: Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, 1999, p.19.
4. “Eat a Live Frog Every Morning, and Nothing Worse Will Happen to You the Rest of the Day,” Quote Investigator.com, 3 April 2013, https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/03/eat-frog/.

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