#369 How important is winning in business?

How important is winning in business?

Leadership, projects, recruiting - an overview

Winning is seen as imperative.

Whether in recruiting, discussions, negotiations, or leadership, it is always assumed that at least one side tends to win and one side tends to lose. This attitude undoubtedly leads to a particular leadership and organisational culture. Is it correct that winning should always be at the forefront of day-to-day business?

Perception

Managers must be able to assert themselves, so it is regularly said. Winning in conflicts with employees is therefore unavoidable. In a project, there is one side that is right and another side that has to deliver results. Here, too, it is said that you have to take the winning side wherever possible. Recruiting is supposed to attract the best talent. The pressure in recruiting is set correspondingly high to ensure that the offers made are accepted and, thus, the negotiation is won. Is this attitude factually tenable?

Facts

Dacher Keltner, leading psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, takes a critical view of this assumption. Winning is primarily based on external validation, a confirmation from outside. The constant need for external validation has been scientifically proven to lead to unhappiness. This kind of pseudo-winner mentality also creates a toxic atmosphere within the organisation. Projects are presented better than they are, culturally unsuitable people are recruited for the organisation, and toxic positivity becomes the norm, often irrespective of the facts. How can this be done better?

Implementation

Firstly, you need a precise target definition. In addition to pure KPIs, you need the associated soft factors, the CSFs, and the Critical Success Factors. (More on this in this week's podcast; see links below). It's not uncommon for organisational leaders to celebrate achieving a metric, often revenue or profit, only to have to reinvest the money they've supposedly gained directly into fixing the damage done to staff turnover and employer branding. It is fine to set ambitious targets, but management and executives must also be held fully accountable. Selectively celebrating individual metrics and denying the reality of the bigger picture is the definition of poor and unsustainable leadership.

Excellent leadership brings knowledge and experience, shows full commitment, and gives employees a full picture of the organisational reality. It is not always wise to try to win situations at all costs. Sustainable winning is more than just agreeing on certain goals and achieving them. Looking at the overall state of the organisation and evaluating it in all its facets distinguishes sustainable from merely temporarily successful organisations.

More on this topic in this week's podcast: Apple Podcasts / Spotify

Is excellent leadership important to you?

Let's have a chat: NB@NB-Networks.com

Contact: Niels Brabandt on LinkedIn

Website: www.NB-Networks.biz

Niels Brabandt is an expert in sustainable leadership with more than 20 years of experience in practice and science.

Niels Brabandt: Professional Training, Speaking, Coaching, Consulting, Mentoring, Project & Interim Management. Event host, MC, moderator.