“...failure to account for limitations in an organization is not confined to geo-strategic situations, or war.”
Many inspirational posters tout the importance of people not giving in to their limitations, with slogans such as Richard Bach’s, “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.” Often, this is taken to mean that one shouldn’t admit to having limitations at all.
Admitting your limitations is critical
With vulnerable leadership, however, freely admitting having limitations is critical. It opens the door for forward movement and improves the likelihood of making good decisions.
Sadly, there are many stories where the inability to admit limitations and lack of knowledge has led to disastrous and dangerous decision-making, especially in times of great change. Knowledge is generally gained through experience, and experience occurs in the past. However, past experience is often not useful when technology, culture, science, social policy, and other aspects of life change and there is no precedent. In these times, leaders need to be open to learning and understanding the new terrain so they can make better decisions based on new knowledge. To do this, leaders must acknowledge their limits and put themselves in the vulnerable position of asking others for help and input.
The study of warfare is replete with examples of leaders not understanding or acknowledging their limitations. World War I is a textbook example: Senior leaders were stuck in the past in terms of how they thought war should be fought, based on their past experiences, not taking into account the technological advances created by the Industrial Revolution. Machine gun rates of fire, tanks, improved accuracy and range of artillery, chemical weapons, submarines, aircraft, and on and on, were little understood in terms of lethality and impact on the battlefield. The result—carnage on an unprecedented scale, never before experienced.
Vladimir Putin’s failure to acknowledge his military’s logistics and command and control limitations turned what he, and many, thought would be a quick victory in Ukraine—some “experts” predicted the war would be over in a matter of days—to the present-day slugfest with no clear end in sight, and the loss of tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides. And, Putin was further deluded by his gross underestimation of the resolve of NATO countries in their support of Ukraine, which clearly reflects limitations in Russia’s national intelligence analysis capabilities.
Failure to admit limitations is a universal issue.
But, failure to account for limitations in an organization is not confined to geo-strategic situations, or war. It happens with businesses all the time. A good example is Target’s attempt to expand its retail operations into Canada about ten years ago. The company did not adequately account for its supply chain limitations, resulting in empty shelves and long lead times for resupply in its Canadian stores. Furthermore, extensive renovation needs of the retail space it moved into, a flawed merchandising system, a tight time frame, and inadequate leadership—all limitations of analysis and overestimation of its ability to execute—led to the failure. Result—over $4B in losses and a major hit to the company’s brand.
So, seasoned leaders should periodically check whether they have fallen into the trap of no longer seeing their or their organizataion’s limitations. They can do this by asking themselves these questions:
When I ask a question, are people reluctant to answer? When people think you want to hear only one thing, they will resist answering until they have a sense of what you’re looking for.
How many times do I ask for input from others in meetings?
What is the motivation for my behavior? Am I doing this to further something, or am I doing it to be right, prove my brilliance, or cement my legacy?
Have I sought honest feedback from subordinates and peers about ways that I can improve my effectiveness? If yes, then what have I done with that feedback? If no, then why not?
Although showing vulnerability by admitting limitations and seeking help and input from others can feel uncomfortable, result in unfavorable comparisons with others, and cause doubt about ability, these feelings will always be short-term. The benefits, on the other hand, will be long-term.
I’m very interested to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to share your comments below. You can also reach me via email at james.m.milano@gmail.com.