Looking back: A leadership requirement or a waste of time?

Country music singer Mac Davis has extolled the virtues of “looking at Lubbock, Texas in his rear view mirror”. On the other hand, Satchel Page, a famous American baseball pitcher, said “the only way you ever walk into a wall is by looking backwards”. So, if you are a good leader, how much time do you spend reflecting on what could have been?
Do you look back, analyse your decisions, see what you did right, what you did wrong and use that as a base going forward,
or do you just go on to the next decision?

The short answer is that replays, while good for sports, bring little (if any) value in real life. After a leader makes a decision, he should live with it and move on to his next challenge. Examining and re-evaluating decisions already made adds little to the leader’s statue or his ability to lead. In fact, in some cases, it actually serves as a detriment, focusing him on the past as opposed to looking into the future. The retrospective approach to life may also affect the leader’s confidence when faced with his next decision.

Analysing decisions

Of course, no one lives in a vacuum. Anytime something doesn’t go as planned, a leader must understand why it happened. He must understand what went wrong – not in his decision-making process, but what happened after the fact.
What would he change about his execution of the decision? In short, he believes that he made the right decision, but that the execution was flawed. Understanding the missteps that created the problem gives the leader an insight into what he would do differently in future.

The difference between revisiting a decision (as opposed to the execution of the decision) can be found in the example of a failed acquisition that fitted perfectly with a firm’s strategic plan but never gained traction. Post-acquisition, the managing partner found that certain partners had a reputation for being tough on laterals.
That reputation affected the firm’s ability to attract new people. The lesson learned was that the managing partner made the right decision in pursuing the acquisition, but that he should have done more due diligence on the firm members.

These types of inquiries differ greatly from those that question the leader’s judgement. Recriminations and post mortems have little place in leadership. Life constantly moves on, as should the leader’s thinking process. Spending
a lot of time wishing that he had done something else, or wondering why he did what he did, adds little value to the leader’s skill set or his business enterprise.

Maintaining a following

There is one exception to the looking back prohibition. Periodically, the leader needs to look behind him to make sure he is being followed. Essentially, he ‘looks over his shoulder’ to make sure his constituents still follow his strategic direction.
This peek into the past differs greatly from rehashing decisions. This backward view builds, maintains and stabilises the leader’s base. Initially selling his strategy to his partners doesn’t end the discussions. Buying in at the beginning doesn’t guarantee endless support.

Success or failure often impacts on partners’ belief in the leader’s direction. In order to ensure that the firm properly executes his strategy, the leader must continue to communicate with his partners and sell them on his vision. He must spend time reselling his plan, gaining input and changing direction. Never forget that implementing the plan requires constant care. Talking to the partners on a regular basis helps to keep the plan moving forward and, more importantly, keep the constituents behind the leader.

That does not mean that the leader changes his vision. The vision remains the same, but the implementation may require adjustments. Issues may arise that need to be addressed to keep the rank and file motivated. To garner the necessary feedback, the leader continues to talk
to his partners about the firm’s strategy. He addresses successes and failures.
The feedback he receives gives him insight into people’s concerns and the things that need to be addressed. Absent that type of feedback, the leader may wake up one morning and find that there is no one
to lead.

Letting go

In summary, much like a card game, a decision made is a decision played. Revisiting and anguishing over decisions, or wishing things were different, rarely helps a good leader or his firm.

Make a decision and then move on. If things do not work out, understand why, but do not go back and question the judgement that went into the decision.
The sole exception is to ‘look back’ to make sure that people still follow. That involves assessing the proper execution
of the strategy and checking that the partners still believe in the firm’s direction.

Leadership thought for the month:
A good leader believes he never lost;
he only ran out of time.

Julious P. Smith Jr is chair emeritus at US law firm Williams Mullen (www.williamsmullen.com)