Here are a few thoughts. Effective leaders don’t just follow the rules. Instead, they analyse a situation and make decisions based on what they see with their eyes, what they hear with their ears and what they feel in their gut. They process information objectively, quickly and they are not afraid to go in a direction that others would advise them against. They are driven by making good decisions and achieving goals, not ticking boxes.
A good operator will happily and efficiently apply the rules. They get the job done as instructed. There is little or no room for flexibility based on personal judgement. They like it this way. Loose ends are tied. Standards are met.
Most businesses need both. Good leaders and good operators. They need them at the right time in the right places.
Here is a recent personal experience of how the difference between the two can play out.
Where was the effective leader when I needed one?
I am travelling to Portugal with my wife. In the UK government’s colouring book, Portugal has recently gone from Green to Amber so there are more rules to follow. We intend to follow them. PCR tests are taken together at 10am at home on the Friday before the 6.30am Monday flight, within the mandatory 72-hour window. Unique referenced samples matched to passport numbers are sent for analysis. As we expected, we are all clear and arrive at check-in, full of anticipation for our hard-won holiday. Boris has not made it easy, but we have complied with the rules on testing, and we are ready and able to do the isolation on our return.
The flight assistant checks my wife’s certificate – all good. She then checks my certificate. “Sorry sir, but you cannot fly with this certificate”. A moment of stunned silence ensues. What! She explains she cannot allow me to board the flight as my certificate, unlike my wife’s, does not show the time (as well as the date) the test was taken. Therefore, they cannot be certain it was taken within 72 hours of flying…. OMG are you serious? She was serious.
I must now confess to the self-inflicted predicament I now find myself in. While filling out the online form, I had ticked a box indicating the time of the test should not be shown on my certificate. Yes, it was my mistake. I’ve no idea why this was an option and I’ve no idea why I ticked the box. On reflection, I think I thought, somewhat ironically, this extra bit of detail might cause an issue. My wife is clearly much smarter than me.
I tried a Matt Hancock. “Look I’m sorry, I’ve made a mistake. Now let me just carry on”. No chance.
My error was now generating a huge surge in my stress levels. It became horrifyingly clear to me the operator was sticking to the manual, rather than analysing the reality of the situation. The rules said I could not board the plane – even though she surely knew – with her eyes, her ears and her gut – that I’d taken the test at the same time as my wife. But….the possibility, no matter how faint, that I might have taken the test between the hour of midnight and 6.30am on Friday 11 May, meant no ticket to the sunshine for me. Apparently, the doubt that I did take it between those hours, was not “beyond reasonable”.
Actually, that is a red herring. If only doubt was a factor. It was not. The only factor was boxes with ticks. Or preferably no ticks. I was dealing with a good operator, not, in my view, a leader.
Frantic calls at 5am in the morning to the testing company’s contact centre were to no avail. I forlornly advised my wife to get on the plane without me.
I wonder if you agree with me. Would an efflective leader have a let me board the plane?
A happy ending
Fortunately for me, the story does have a happy ending. Not because a leader emerged over the horizon riding a white horse, but because Portugal had just announced it would accept an antigen test rather than a PCR test for entry from the UK. The antigen test results can be provided within a half hour and the test centre at the airport was open! 40 quid the poorer, 45 minutes later and just in time, I checked in.
So, I got lucky. The operator had told me that my certificate without the time would not be accepted at passport control in Portugal. When we arrived at Faro, I decided I would test that. Guess what?
Leaders and operators. We need both
PS. My wonderful wife remained calm throughout my mini crisis. Natural born leader.
