Navigating Tensions: Lessons from Andy Stanley
(Much of this material is taken from an Andy Stanley podcast that I recently reviewed in a leadership group context that people found very beneficial.)
Tension is defined as:
the act of stretching or straining; the state of being stretched or strained; mental or emotional strain.
Do these definitions make tension sound like a good thing or a bad thing? Common sense would say that most living things, including organizations, must stretch or strain to grow. On the other hand, no one generally likes to sign up for mental or emotional strain! I like to think of tension as balancing between two good things. We want or need both of these good things, but we want them in some balance.
Consider a car and its wheels — if we 100% lean into one side of the tension, we would go into a ditch on one side of the road. If we 100% pick the other side, we go into a ditch on the other side! Can you think of a recent example of tension in your life or work?
From a leadership perspective, we have four options as to how we should approach tension. We can:
A) ignore it; B) try to solve it; C) try to manage it; or D) monitor it.
Andy Stanley would say “you can never solve a tension, but ignoring it is not healthy for an organization.” He would also say that the only way for an organization to get rid of tension is to weigh in 100% on the side of one of the two values that appear to be in tension.” For example, revenue and expenses are always in tension. If you weigh in heavily on the side of revenue, you can spend your business out of existence. To the other extreme, however, we know there's never been a business that's been able to save their way to growth and profitability.
So how do we manage tensions that exist in the organizations we lead? For example, I've never met an organization that didn't have a tension between sales and production or between marketing and sales. The first thing we need to do is to admit the dilemma we are examining is a tension to manage and not a problem to solve. That truth means that we won’t have a solution that is one and done. The second thing we need to do is to work to manage it, which is very different than attempting to solve it. We need to acknowledge that both of the perceived values in tension with each other, are necessary. If you were to try and simply solve a tension, you’ll likely create a greater problem. Part of managing any tension is coming up with a way to monitor it over time, and pivoting as needed. What we come up with for the balance point between sales and production right now, may not be the same balance point next year.
So how do we know if a dilemma is a problem to be solved or a tension to be managed?
Stanley has three ideas that should help here:
First, if we solve a problem, it should stay solved for a while. If we think we solved it and it comes back up quickly, it likely isn't a problem to solve and is instead a tension to manage.
Second, if we have competent people leading the arguments on both sides of the issue (both are making good points and to some extent are both right), it is likely a tension to manage and not a problem to solve. Trying to solve the tension will result in a win/lose and not a win/win scenario.
Third, if the two sides of the issue are interdependent, we should lean to it being a tension. Sales is always dependent on production and production is always dependent on sales. Interdependence is a key indicator that it is more likely a tension to manage than a problem to solve.
Let's look at another practical application. Do responsibility and authority always have to be equal? Is it ever okay for someone's responsibility to be greater than their authority? Stanley argues that if you really want everyone to feel like an owner and not just an employee, they should have a sense of responsibility for everything that goes on in the organization, even if they do not possess the formal authority in that area. Sales should not be able to say “production is messed up” and not have any sense of responsibility for helping to come up with the solution. Likewise, production should not be able to say “the sales team stinks” and not have any sense of responsibility for helping to improve the sales process and cycle. That dialogue and lack of action just leads to silos and poor teaming within the organization.
Another tension to manage is that of leaders maintaining humility and still leading effectively. You don’t want leaders who think they are more important or better than others in their organization. Those leaders are not humble. On the flip side, a leader can operate so humbly that they don’t lead well. For every leader, this is tension to manage. It also requires us to monitor it. As someone goes up the corporate ranks, they can't lose sight of the fact that they are not better than the people they are leading. Still, they need to be ready to provide clear direction because they are in a position of leadership.
So what should you as a leader do?
Provide your organization with key language about the difference between a tension to manage and a problem to solve. Facilitate team discussions with the delineation between tensions and problems explained up front. Admit that the answer to the decision for today may not be the answer six months from now.
Help your organization come up with ways to monitor top tensions. This includes a frequency in doubling back to check on the tension. Ask yourself: is it in the balance we need it to be today?
Understand that your words carry more weight than anyone else on your team. Sometimes that means holding back on giving your opinion until after others have offered theirs.
If one of the two sides arguing a particular position is a strong type A and is used to winning even if someone else loses, ensure that both sides and perspectives get a chance to be heard. To the greatest extent possible, move the team towards a win/win perspective and help both sides see the benefit of the counter position.
So how about you? What is one tension in your world that you've tried to solve? How could you approach it differently? Who do you need to pull in to ensure that the two values that appear to be in opposition to each other are managed appropriately?
In addition to Andy Stanley's podcasts, feel free to check out: Navigating Polarities: Using Both/And Thinking to Lead Transformation by Brian Emerson and Kelly Lewis if you want to go deeper on this topic.
If we can help you manage any tensions (or problems to solve), we are happy to help. Believing that all growing things have tensions, until next month…