THE ART OF LETTING GO.

Most seasoned leaders have learned to expect the unexpected. And while managers seek to control others; leaders seek to release others. What we sometimes miss as leaders is that releasing people without systems, structures, processes and practices to guide individual and organizational effectiveness will lead to chaos, not greater effectiveness. Legendary coach Phil Jackson, who won 11 NBA championships, has often said that he considers his last championship, with the Kobe led Lakers team in 2010, to be his most gratifying. One of the reasons why is because he was able to watch Kobe transform from a "selfish, demanding player" into a leader that his teammates wanted to follow. Jackson's leadership reflection: "leadership is not about forcing your will on others. It's about mastering the art of letting go." But Coach Jackson also noted that Kobe had to learn to play within the system (Jackson's now famous triangle offense) instead of trying to force the game through his own talents and abilities. Organizations with increasing effectiveness have integrated systems that produce predictable results. As leaders, we sometimes forget (as Brene Brown observed) that clear is kind and, even more so, coherence (shared meaning and understanding) is compassion and justice. We can't assume that people know 'the why,' 'the how' and 'the what' to do until we have established and clearly communicated the organizational "rules for engagement." Then once we have these systems and processes in place, we have to continually check-in with ourselves and our teams to "let the game come to us" - trusting (and verifying) that team members are following the same practices which will lead us to exponential outcomes and remarkable results. #LeadByLettingGo

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