Leading What Matters Most (A Business Parable on Unlocking Human Potential)

Almost six weeks into the implementation of new strategies based on the consulting report, Bridget’s leadership team continued to hear rumblings from their direct reports. Sales continued to push back saying the way they were doing things was working fine, the company just needed to figure out how to fill their orders faster. Operations complained that they didn’t have time to implement these new procedures and keep up their current production levels. Customer service grumbled about customer complaints taking up too much of their time. And everyone wanted to know why leadership wasn’t fixing these problems. Bridget was beyond frustrated.

They had been following the recommendations they had received from a highly recommended consultant group—but everything they were doing seemed to exacerbate rather than solve the issues.

Bridget pulled up Talon Tech’s latest earnings report and groaned. Until just a few months ago, Talon Tech’s success had seemed unstoppable, and her leadership as CEO had been key to that success. But they had hit a wall, and if they didn’t learn how to scale that wall quickly, Talon Tech’s success would slip away.

The review process had forced Bridget to acknowledge that weak leadership and a poor people-centric culture were the root cause of the issues they were facing: a litany of customer service issues, churning through top talent, and challenges from remote work. The board wanted and deserved answers.

Bridget knew she could no longer stay in her comfort zone—developing the next technological feat. She needed to balance her technology-centric mindset with a people-centric mindset, and she knew she couldn’t do that alone.

“The moment of truth,” Bridget thought as she stepped out into reception. “Good morning, Ray. Welcome to Talon Tech,” she said with a smile.

“Good morning, Bridget,” he said shaking her hand warmly, “I’m glad to be here and look forward to working with you and your team.”