Turnarounds

Leadership continues to be deeply in fashion. I’ve just received a special issue of the Harvard Business Review on the subject. And three management consultants, Stuart Slatter, David Lovett and Laura Barlow (both the latter coming from AlixPartners), have tackled one vital aspect of leadership - getting businesses out of trouble, Their book, Leading Corporate Turnaround, covers one of my own favourite themes down the years.

Should you take on a turnaround, or go along for the rise under somebody else’s leadership? I agree with the consultants that, while management styles differ greatly from case to case, ‘virtually all [successful turnaround leaders] exhibit the following leadership characteristics:

o They quickly develop clear short-term priorities and goals
o They exhibit visible authority
o They set expectations and enforce standards
o They are decisive and implement their decisions quickly
o They communicate continuously with all stakeholders
o They build confidence and trust by being transparent and honest
o They adopt an autocratic leadership style during crisis stabilisation

I wouldn’t argue with any of those bullet points. Only get involved in a turnaround if these characteristics are being mobilised. But I do have one argument with the list as a whole. Apart from the last, which of these points can any leader forget about? They form part of any leadership which aims to achieve great things. Autocratic styles, though, can be counter-productive, and no fun for anyone save the autocrat. Otherwise, obey my long-time advice:

MANAGE OUT OF CRISIS AS YOU ARE FORCED TO MANAGE IN CRISIS, AND THERE WON’T BE A CRISIS