Are You Sure That Is What They Want?

Written by a human, for humans, always.

One of the many roles of leaders...

Is to build out the future.

Now, the exact nature of that is going to depend on the context...

Whether they are guiding the direction of future services...

Building or shifting teams...

Shaping the messaging of an organization...

All of these and more are ways that leaders build out the future.

But...

There is something that I frequently see in leadership...

With how leaders go wrong.

Let me give you an example that I saw recently...

A famous fast-food restaurant made an announcement that they were going to invest highly in the business to "make a comeback".

Sounds good on paper.

However...

A customer's voice rang out...

Saying that all they wanted was not to pay sit-down restaurant prices at a fast-food restaurant.

What is it we are seeing?

What we can infer from the marketing message of the leaders is that...

The leaders believe that the problem is that the reason they are losing customers has to do with something they can "invest in"...

Which could mean anything from...

Product adjustments (in food, this often includes types or quality of ingredients)...

To infrastructure (in fast-food, it could be redesigning the mobile ordering system, adding AI to systems, or new training of staff)...

To refreshing the marketing (Adjusting logos, adding new characters or stories to hook customers, etc.).

But...

Is any of that what the customer actually wants?

Apparently not.

All the customer wants...

Is pricing that matches the experience.

Now, could the fast-food restaurant redesign the product to "match" the higher pricing?

Perhaps...

But then does it make sense for the fast-food company to be a "fast-food" company?

Probably not.

This gets us to the heart of the problem...

Many leaders look at their roles of designing the future...

But they fail to actually understand where they are today...

What those they lead or serve actually want.

They "think" they know what people want...

But...

Is that really what they want?

So many leaders are completely disconnected from who they lead and serve...

That the truth is, they really have no clue what those people are hoping for, expecting...

Or needing.

In this fast-food case...

The leaders seem to believe that some investment will lift them back up...

When the reality is that customers need cheaper food options.

Fast-food "used" to be the go-to for cheap...

But it seems that many fast-food leaders have lost sight of that...

And the result...

Is that customers are not getting their needs met...

And the result that should be expected...

Is happening...

And customers are looking for businesses that "will" serve their needs.

This is what happens when leaders forget that before they can guide the future direction...

They need to understand the here and now...

That they are tending to the needs of those they lead and serve today...

Building the future from stable ground.

When leaders fail to do this...

They begin to become delusional...

Because they are building a future...

That is never going to exist...

Because in order to create that future...

They need those they lead and serve to stay around until that future has been created...

But it never comes to fruition if those people leave...

And when leaders do not know what those people want in reality...

They will leave.

Many leaders "know" this...

But they absolutely fail in actually "living" this reality...

And it shows.

Sometimes not immediately...

Often not based on the metrics that the leaders are following...

But there are clear patterns that can be seen that leaders are failing in their roles.

What is very interesting...

Is that most leaders actually act surprised when things begin to visibly go wrong...

But...

If you understand the patterns...

The undercurrent of what happens usually develops over months or years...

And it becomes a catastrophic mess only at the final stages.

When it gets to that point...

Usually the leader has been so far removed from reality...

That there is little to nothing that the leader can do to change anything.

They have broken trust...

They have failed to hear the needs of those they were supposed to lead...

They have gone off in their own direction without anyone following them...

And they have failed to do what they were supposed to at every turn.

People do not want to follow that kind of leader...

And when that leader represents a company or brand...

It also ruins the reputation of that company or brand.

Even "if" the leadership changes...

"And" the new leader(s) try to get back to serving their teams and customers (which does not always happen, and instead they try to lead in "their" own new direction)...

The damage may be too great for anything to be done.

What leaders need to understand...

Is that leading has never been about what "they" believe...

It does not matter to the teams and customers.

Leading is always about what the teams and customers want and need.

Can a leader convince people they need something?

Sure...

But only if they actually understand the wants and needs of the teams and customers and ...

And can accurately communicate that to them.

But...

Most leaders do not actually do this.

Most leaders believe "they" know what their teams and customers want and need...

Without ever actually knowing their teams and customers...

Then try to force their "vision" on everyone around them...

Which leads to the inevitable result...

That the leader fails in their own pride.

If a leader is going to succeed...

They first must deeply understand their teams and customers.

What is it they want and need?

If you cannot accurately answer that from "their" perspective...

You will fail as a leader...

And the world will not show compassion for your failing.

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