Different routes to get to the same destination

As a leader there are many different ways of getting to where you want to go. Maybe you want to become more self-aware, empower your people or craft an inspiring vision.

Think about these things as the destination that you want to reach. Now, imagine that you have in front of you your Google Maps app. You are typing in the destination that you want to arrive at - "an inspired team" for example. Google Maps will plan out a route for you, and you can choose things such as avoiding motorways or roadworks. You can choose the most direct route or the quickest route.

You choose the route that you want to take. At the same time knowing that there could be three, four or five other potential routes to the same destination.

You start on your way. You might come across an unexpected situation, perhaps roadworks, a break down, an accident. It becomes obvious that this route is now not going to pan out the way you had anticipated.

It is unlikely that if you particularly wanted to get to that destination that you would give up at this stage. You would simply choose another route.

Let me relate to you a real-life experience of mine. Then I will show how this relates to leadership via a vignette.

I was driving into Auckland from Whangamata. I got 40 minutes into my journey, over the windy roads, to find that the road had been closed by the police because of a bad accident. I was anxious, not because of the delay but because of my dwindling petrol supply. I had to take stock, turn around, and plan a new route. The thought crossed my mind to go back to Whangamata but I really wanted to get home.

I had a choice on new routes. I chose to take the narrow windy gravel road which was faster than the longer tar sealed road. One and a half hours later, I was back to the same position that I was when I found the road was closed. Then I continued home, having had more of a scenic drive than I had anticipated.

Now a vignette. Jane is a CEO of a small team of consultants. One of her team Stuart, is a trusted advisor to his clients. But he has a habit of making silly mistakes. Jane knows that these are slowly eroding the trust the clients have in Stuart's ability. Jane wants to bring this to Stuart's attention. She wants to support him in improving how he pays attention to the details. She wants to assist him in learning and using new skills.

She tries the first route, to mention to Stuart what is happening. It doesn’t work. She can't get through because Stuart is not aware of the weight of the problem yet. So Jane tries another approach. She starts correcting Stuart in the moment, Jane is getting some traction but its slow. She tries another route.

This time she asks a client that Stuart has a great relationship with to help. The client discusses with Stuart the effect the silly mistakes are having on the project. This is the winner. Stuart is able to see the concern and is now motivated to try and fix it.

Jane tried three routes until she found the one that worked for her. She didn't give up when the first two routes didn't pan out.

In your own leadership journey, know that you have multiple routes available. If one doesn’t work, try another, but don’t give up. You will eventually get to your destination.