B.I.G. Leadership … a Great Process for Teams

“Leaders Think Antithetically! Normal-ship says, ‘If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.’ Leadership says, ‘Break it! There is always a better way to do it!’” – Leadershipology.com

There is the old saying, “If it is not broken, don’t fix it!” However, I challenge my leaders to do the opposite … to think antithetically. We challenge them to “break it” (not literally but figuratively) as there is always a better way to do it. The process I developed to facilitate this thinking is a process called B.I.G. Leadership.

B.I.G. stands for:
·        B – Raise the Bar
·        I – Identify the gaps
·        G – Generate positive tension

Leaders who follow B.I.G. Leadership, position their teams for great results!

Many teams and organizations are satisfied with the status quo. But when you Raise the Bar, you take “what is” within your team and you say “how can our ‘what is’ be better?” A leader’s job is always to challenge “what is” to become much better. Raising the Bar can mean raising our expectations, adding a new initiative, service or product.

When the Bar is Raised for a team, what naturally happens is that gaps show up. These gaps can be issues, or problems within your vision, structure or strategy that need to be solved in order for this “better way” to happen. Another responsibility of a leader is to be aware enough of what is happening within their teams to see what gaps exist. Figuratively, their job is to assess any “holes” that need to be plugged now that we have raised the bar.

Finally, once we have raised the bar and identify gaps, a leader then must generate positive tension within his team to not only reach for the bar; but reach for the bar while filling the new gaps and solving new problems. This process is also cyclical. As soon as the tension we generate leads to the results we’re looking for, we start all over by raising the bar again.

When this process is applied, organizations and teams grow in a healthy and organic way. So often, things can grow by default and not by design. But if a team’s growth is strategic and intentional using BIG leadership, a leader will be able to better see their vision, structures, and strategies lead to deliberate growth and success.