Go Beyond The Blueprint
“Just tell me what I need to do and I will do it!”
It’s a typical problem.
It might be a new or established leader at senior or middle level, exasperated that their way of working is not what is now expected of them.
With a blueprint, a set of chronological instructions and wider resources for guidance this professional can achieve anything. They can plough their way through one task after another, absorbing methods as they go. Chartered territory is the comfort zone.
And then the moment comes when there is no clearly identifiable rule book. The step by step video does not quite cut it for the precise set of circumstances they now face. In fact, the more they look at it the more it does not work at all.
We have reached a point in the workplace where it is much easier to be a ‘builder’. The plans are put in your hands, the materials are provided, you just need to follow the plan.
Yet leadership is about more than this. Leadership requires you to find a way through without a reference point, to draw upon your experience rather than replicate it. Execution matters, but it is only a part of the puzzle.
Leadership requires ‘architects’ who can design a solution and prevent the same problem from reoccurring. They need principles to work from and not a blueprint to follow.
How can you turn a builder into an architect?
It’s not easy, and often represents a paradigm shift.
Here’s four things to consider.
1. Define the purpose first
An architect starts by asking fundamental questions, not by designing the window frames or the location of the exits.
Fundamental questions like:
What is the building for?
Who will use it?
What impact should it have on its surroundings?
Similarly a senior leader has some fundamental questions to ask:
Why has this problem arisen?
What is this organisation for?
What needs to be considered so the solution is sustainable?
How is the solution guided by our core values?
What do we really want to achieve in the long-term?
Leadership means going deep into the roots of an issue and not just responding to the symptoms.
Metrics and KPIs will matter, but transformational change means you do not start with them.
Leadership as architecture means designing the meaning before detailing the mechanics.
2. Drafting a master plan
Blueprints might provide detailed instructions for construction, but they are the result of a master plan.
This is where the architect translates purpose and site understanding into the fundamental layout and organisation of the building.
How will spaces connect?
How will people move through them?
How will different areas interact?
Leadership involves designing the overarching strategy, and the key processes that enable the organisation to achieve its aims.
Good ‘architect’ questions for a leader to ask include:
What are the needs for all our stakeholders which could be moved forward in solving this problem?
How will information reach everyone who needs to see it?
What are all the dots, and how will they join up?
How can everyone see the big picture of what we are trying to achieve?
Maybe the problem is not that deep. It is possible that referring back to the original master plan is all you need, should you know where to find it.
It is always worth checking to see if there are deeper lessons to learn. There may be good reasons for the absence of collaboration between key colleagues, an inefficient approach or a lack of alignment.
The answers you find may have broader implications for the organisation. Maybe a lot of problems could be solved in one go, maybe there is a need for a rebuild of one or more areas. Maybe the whole organisation is not as good as you thought it was.
The challenge for the architect is to find the best questions, and not latch on to the nearest set of answers.
3. Select sustainable materials
Architects have lots of choices to make, not least in materials.
The quality of building materials affects costs, longevity, environmental impact and cost. Shortcuts will be in plentiful supply but may also lead to far greater costs in the long time.
I had a Chair of Governors who was an architect. As we embarked on a very significant building project I asked him for his best piece of advice. He said that it was much better to go for something that was more expensive than you would prefer as it gives you a much improved chance of the building doing what you want it to do.
He was absolutely right.
The leader who operates as an architect considers staff resources, professional development, best practice and technology. Their role is to select and allocate the resources.
Solving the problem may require attracting new talent, or a transformational improvement in existing staff. It may require an investment in technology and the training to use it.
The leader who acts as an architect has difficult choices to make, but they must be deliberate in their actions. They think in terms of the long term and not next week. They develop a narrative which will hold up to all those who join after the initial issue was dealt with.
4. Balance vision and reality
Leadership is the art of compromise – the constant balancing act between vision and reality.
Architects rarely have unlimited budgets, a complete free choice in the design process and they have no choice about the laws of physics.
Great architecture tends to emerge from finding creative and elegant solutions within these very real limitations, not unlimited freedoms.
The same applies to leadership. The challenge is to find the limits and work out how they can use them to their advantage in delivering their vision.
Limits are opportunities to find the best solution, not an excuse to cap your expectations.
Financial resources can come and go, regulation and legislation will appear out of nowhere and human beings remain complex and often unpredictable.
Leaders cannot simply will their vision into existence; they must navigate these constraints effectively. This requires realism and pragmatism, not just ingenuity. It involves making tough trade-offs, a ruthless approach to priorities, and finding innovative ways to achieve strategic goals despite the obstacles.
These limitations are parameters which shape a problem, not roadblocks which prevent progress. They demand both a creative approach and a strategic response.
Ignoring them will only lead to failure. Leaders who act as architects welcome the discovery of every limitation and find a way to navigate them.
Remember that:
Builders have to solve problems too, and often lots of them. The journey from builder to architect can start by collating a set of problems they have already solved as a foundation to build upon.
This is also a journey which cannot be completed by osmosis. People would become better builders if they understood how architects operated. Builders can become architects if the right professional development is put in place, and if the organisation they work for does not pigeon hole staff into one or another.
How can I help you?
1. Talks, workshops and seminars - including managing topics relevant to the two areas above plus explaining Gen Z to Gen X and dealing with the intergenerational workplace. Speaker showreel here.
2. My book The Snowflake Myth will be published in 2025 - to receive a free chapter (when available 😬) please click here.
3. One to one coaching programmes for senior leaders who are swamped by their jobs so they can thrive in life. Click here to discover where you are on your journey from Frantic to Fulfilled? Just 5 minutes of your time and you will receive a full personalised report with guidance on your next steps.
4. Team coaching programmes - working IN a team is not the same as working AS a team and yet they are often treated as if they are the same. I help teams move from the former to the latter, and generate huge shifts in productivity and outcomes.
