U-turns, reversals and flip-flops. No matter which particular high-flying act you prefer, right now some politicians sound more like circus trapeze artists than serious, strong-willed leaders.
In business, just as in politics, reversing a policy decision is often viewed as a sign of weakness.
Dithering just doesn’t sit well with the stakeholders and investors; in fact it makes them uncomfortable and fidgety.
So in senior management is it ever okay to change your mind?
Well, let’s say you’re the Chief Executive of the company and you’ve put together a strategy that will have far-reaching, long-term consequences for many employees and the bottom line.
The masterplan sounds great, you’ve consulted extensively with your board of directors, everyone has hopped onboard, and the train is about to leave the station . . . when suddenly, from nowhere, another option occurs to you.
It would move everyone in the opposite direction but it’s brilliant!
What do you do? Carry on regardless in the knowledge no one will ever know there could have been a better way?
Or do you confess? Look, everyone, I may have got this wrong. Let’s look at taking another route.
It’s a dilemma. There’s a voice from one shoulder warning you can’t afford to lose your legitimacy as head honcho by backtracking.
And there’s a voice on the other shoulder saying you can steer a new course while maintaining your credibility.
The thing to recognise in this instance is the ability to change your mind is actually an essential quality of leadership.
But don’t take our word for it, just ask Jeff Bezos.
Originally, Jeff set up Amazon Auctions, a company designed to compete with eBay. When it became clear all was not going exactly to plan did Jeff doggedly stick to his guns?
No, he changed his approach, moving on to shape a global company that would become the Amazon we all know today, selling everything a consumer could ever desire.
According to Forbes magazine, today Jeff is worth nearly $84 billion.
At the 2016 shareholders meeting he noted Amazon is the fastest company ever to reach $100 billion in annual sales cleared in 2015.
Now his aerospace company, Blue Origin, is developing a reusable rocket that will carry commercial passengers.
If he changes his mind on this one, maybe we could send politicians into space instead?
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