A simple solution does not exist for the complex problem that has led us to sacrifice the future for the near-term, single-minded, pursuit of growth and profits. However, CrossLead holds leaders and organizations accountable and appropriately considers stakeholders’ opinions. The CrossLead model is ideal for fluid information sharing, systematically addressing problems in sequential parts, and remaining focused on long-term goals. CrossLead makes organizations exponentially more principled, patient and social while ensuring that the organization remains successful in a ruthless, dynamic world.
Over the past decade, a number of crises and scandals have weakened public faith in organizations – both government and business. The financial and mortgage crises, the Bernard L. Madoff investment scandal, the response to hurricane Katrina and the Enron scandal demonstrated a significant failure in leadership. These events illustrate a fundamental underlying issue that must be addressed – a leadership capability gap. The need to radically revise business beliefs and whose interests those beliefs serve has become more significant than ever. Leaders are operating in a way that is no longer sufficient for the global, rapidly changing business environment of the 21st century.
As increased globalization, speed of communication, complex and shifting social fabric, more mobile workforces, and access to technology and information continue to change business, this leadership capability gap will continue to widen unless leaders adapt. These demands, coupled with increasingly interdependent relationships, require a shift in how organizations communicate and operate. The business world is filled with the right people focusing on the wrong things. The time for leaders to restore the public trust, repair the moral fabric of the system, and unleash the innovation required to tackle the world’s most pressing and important challenges is now.
We propose a transformative leadership model that shatters the barriers that stand in the way of the teamwork and shared consciousness required to win in today's competitive global marketplace. This model, known as CrossLead, is a combat proven leadership system based on the evolution of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The US military was forced to change rapidly and painfully during the subsequent global War on Terror. JSOC was forced to quickly adapt in order to operate with the speed, precision, and flexibility required to defeat a decentralized network. The best way to defeat a network was to create shared consciousness and purpose. This was reinforced through decentralized decision-making and communications forums that gave actors across the organization both the context and buy-in to push harder to win.
Leaders who are committed to creating a leaner, more resilient organization can learn from a series of CrossLead principles. CrossLead principles speak directly to the Long Term Capitalism Challenge. The principles are: (1) Build relationships based on trust and teamwork, (2) Force and foster a culture of inclusion, transparency, and accountability through constant communication, (3) Understand your operating environment and your organization, (4) Ruthlessly prioritize your effort and focus on what only you can affect, (5) Constantly adapt and evolve talent, resources, and process for purpose, (6) Create shared ownership by decentralizing decision-making and execution to the most effective level, (7) Maintain a disciplined and sustainable battle rhythm.
CrossLead addresses the pressing business challenges facing leaders today by creating shared consciousness and purpose. CrossLead execution instills a level of transparency and inclusiveness that allows organizations to share informed perspectives and create a sense of common ownership for a clearly understood mission. CrossLead cultivates leaders and organizations that are profoundly principled, fundamentally patient, and socially accountable.
PRINCIPLED
Leaders leverage CrossLead to develop practices and forums that allow fluid information sharing and faster, more efficient, decision-making.
“Set Vision and Values” – CrossLead organizations are more principled as a result of undergoing a disciplined process to establish a clear vision for the company. The vision is then relentlessly pushed through the organization to establish shared consciousness and purpose. The base plan requires a leader to align their organizational objectives, strategy, actions, and metrics. It is not enough to have mission and value statements posted throughout an office, CrossLead organizations operationalize vision and values by indoctrinating them into daily communication forums. Once the overall intent of an organization is widely upheld by its members, CrossLead gives teams at every level of the organization smart autonomy – the ability to take initiative, to anticipate future opportunities, to understand what truly matters to leaders, and to execute rapidly within the boundaries of senior leader intent.
PATIENT
Leaders implementing CrossLead maintain a disciplined operating rhythm that fosters perseverance and value creation while emphasizing continuous evolutionary adaptations. CrossLead builds organizational resiliency to address internal challenges and mitigate the effects of external influencers. By sharing information, making leaders more accessible through open forums, and enabling succinct, effective communication, CrossLead creates more time for an organization to reflect, grow and respond more rapidly to changing conditions.
“Battle Rhythm” – CrossLead organizations maintain a disciplined and prioritized communication plan. Organizations create a rhythm of events that occur regularly. Predictable and sustainable patterns increase individual effectiveness by clearly defining where information will be shared and when decisions will be made. This focus on constant evolutionary decision-making also prevents organizations from making hasty revolutionary changes in response to external events. The free time that remains can be used to complete individual tasks and focus on value creation. It is essential to hold leaders accountable for focusing time and resources on what has been identified as important to the organization; therefore, using tools to track organizational priorities with activities you “actually do” is critical.
SOCIAL
Leaders practicing CrossLead recognize the implications of interdependence and widen their view of team to include stakeholders and strategic partnerships at every level.
“Team of Teams” – The CrossLead model recognizes that capitalism cannot successfully operate in a social vacuum. CrossLead provides the tools and discipline for an organization to widen its view to develop a “team of teams”. In order to make an impact in today’s dynamic, global community, leaders must understand their operating environment and carefully assess the individuals and organizations that make up their network. Remaining within and relying on one direct operational team is insufficient to attain long-term success. In order to truly leverage and communicate with a large, geographically dispersed “team”, CrossLead communication forums can be implemented to increase transparency and emphasize a positive-sum view of stakeholder interdependence into operations at every level.
A CrossLead organization has a clear framework supported by processes, tools, and technology that promote leaders’ ability to achieve the higher standards today’s world demands. Every member of the organization, from the senior leaders to junior employees, understands the context and vision of the organization, and how it directly ties to their daily actions. This degree of inclusion and transparency promotes principled leaders and decisions. An organization that has successfully implemented CrossLead is able to meaningfully contribute to public good while maintaining an innovative edge in the following ways:
Scale – To succeed in today’s business environment, organizations must operate at a level of precision and pace never before contemplated. In August 2004, JSOC executed 18 missions. In August 2006, after implementing CrossLead, JSOC executed 300 missions with a similarly sized force. Decentralizing decision making and creating smart autonomy allows organizations and leaders to gather, synthesize, and act on information significantly faster.
Innovate – CrossLead organizations reward innovation and value creation. In JSOC’s environment, failing to innovate and adapt meant the death of you or a team member. Therefore, the ability to think outside the box and act quickly became an invaluable trait. Organizations that fail to adapt and innovate expose themselves to eroded market share, decreasing profits, or becoming obsolete. Creating a culture of inclusion and transparency allows more voices and ideas to be heard and operationalized, thereby more efficiently and effectively responding to any crisis, from competitor attacks to natural disasters.
Improve – CrossLead organizations not only work faster, but maintain a higher standard of quality control. JSOC didn’t just execute 300 missions; JSOC executed 300 missions at a level of precision never imagined. CrossLead organizations strive for continuous learning, never accepting the status quo, and creating shared ownership of their vision.
A simple solution does not exist for the complex problem that has led us to sacrifice the future for the near-term, single-minded, pursuit of growth and profits. However, CrossLead holds leaders and organizations accountable and appropriately considers stakeholders’ opinions. The CrossLead model is ideal for fluid information sharing, systematically addressing problems in sequential parts, and remaining focused on long-term goals. CrossLead makes organizations exponentially more principled, patient and social while ensuring that the organization remains successful in a ruthless, dynamic world.
CrossLead is truly relevant for modern leaders on how they can lead in complex environments, no matter how big or small their organization may be!
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