4.9
USING PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE:
A MODERN LEADERSHIP SKILL
Inspired by William Bridges, Peter Drucker, Robert Reich, and thousands of consulting workshop participants.Today’s leaders need to use the high-quality advice of many expert specialists in order to effec-
tively manage their piece of the business. There used to be a position known as General
Manager—someone who generally knew everything in his or her field of work. In the new
economy, such people are rare birds. Now, leaders must seek expert advice on information
technology, finance, human resource management, legal issues, public relations, economics,
environment, health and safety—the list goes on and on. The purpose of this tool is to help
leaders obtain and use knowledge workers’ professional advice more effectively.
In a nutshell ...
Working with Information Systems (IS) professionals from the head office, the Regional
Manager of a large retail chain said, “When a new IS professional comes into the region, either
I, myself or one of my managers is happy to spend some time helping the new analyst under-
stand our operations. I am no IS expert and need advice on the best use of Information
Technology (IT) systems. If the professional continues to expect me to ‘hold his or her hand’ I
get annoyed, because we need value-added advice. On the other hand, the real problemIS peo-
ple are those who come in and try to tell me how to run my business. That’s my job! I need to
understand how IT can help us, but our own management needs to make the decisions and
live with them. We need both inputs on the table—IS and Operations. The best IS profession-
als understand this give-and-take approach.”
Think of how much time youspend seeking good specialist advice. Think of how frustrat-
ing it is not to get the effective and innovative advice you need. While professionals need to
delivertheir expertise effectively, you, as leader, also need to do some things to ensure you
receivethe best possible advice [☛13.11 Delivering Expertise]. The best leader−professional rela-
tionships are business partnerships in which neither party feels one up nor one down over the
project. The professional “knowing better” than the business leader is dysfunctional, because
no professional can understand or be accountable for your operation the way you can. The
opposite approach is also dysfunctional, because you, as leader, can’t possibly master every area
of changing professional knowledge, yet you need innovative solutions to your problems.
Thus, modern professionals need to be business partners and consultants for you:
Leader too aggressive Business Partner Leader too passive
“I’ll tell the professional.” “Let’s find the best solution together.” “Tell me what to do.”EFFECTIVE USE OF PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE: SOME DOS
In order to be a better business partner, you and the professional need to:
❑ Take the time up front to clarify your underlying needs. Pressures on you, especially
time pressures, often push you to ask for solutions rather than identifying your under-132 SECTION 4 TOOLS FORDESIGNINGPRODUCTIVEPROCESSES ANDORGANIZATIONS