Leading an organisation can sometimes feel a bit like a game of snakes and ladders. You aim to be successful, to lead your organisation up those ladders towards growth and profitability and success whilst avoiding all those potential pitfalls which can see your hard work come to naught. And let’s face it, those potential pitfalls are everywhere. Health and safety, the potential impact of GDPR, complying with environmental and sustainability regulations; all these and more can loom large in the business consciousness, waiting to derail the unwary traveller.

Oh yes, and that’s before you take into account the potential impact of an unwise comment or seemingly innocuous business decision which, if viewed in an unfavourable light by those outside the organisation, could see reputation and share price come crashing down. So what’s the solution? Do you refuse to make business decisions in case they are the wrong ones, do you pile on internal regulation and protocol in a bid for absolute control; do you in effect refuse to play the game in case you lose?

Of course you don’t! Leadership isn’t about control and leading an organisation isn’t about stifling it into immobility. The Companies Act 2006 clearly sets out a director’s duties including a duty to promote the success of the company and you aren’t going to do that through an overemphasis on control. And whilst directors also have a duty to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence; that duty should not subvert the overall aim of the organisation.

Awareness not control

There is another way and it comes through building understanding rather than through the imposition of control. When you stop trying to impose and instead work towards helping your people to build an appreciation of potential risk and the consequences of their actions then the dynamic changes. Far from being potential causes of risk your people then become guardians of the organisation, acting and making decisions in its best interest and interacting with customers and other third parties in a way which enhances reputation.

The first steps on the ladder towards helping your people to become advocates for organisational success are simple ones. By offering training in ‘soft skills’ such as listening and communicating or decision making you can help your people to be more confident in their actions and interactions. By moving away from a pure ‘job view’ and instead providing your people with a holistic view of the organisation you can help them to appreciate their place within it. And the more risk awareness that you build the more your people become advocates for success. When you play snakes and ladders success or failure is down to the throw of a dice. When you eliminate the fear of failure and move the mindset towards positive awareness then you load the dice in favour of success.