How to Lead Anyone: Starting a Project

Here is a recipe that you might follow, if you want to lead people when starting a new project:

1. The leader must sell the project idea with a “clear simple message”

The project must be easily understandable to all.  There must be a clear goal, and a clear end-point. 

For example, if one wanted the company office to be cleaned each week, the goal would be: Have a clean office by Thursday.

2. The leader must be willing to participate in the work

No one is going to follow anyone who is unwilling to “get their hands dirty” and help with the work.  Instead, they will quickly resent the leader, and simply not do the work.  I was recently working with such a leader.  She would lay out very nice plans for projects, and then would assign all of the work to others.  She didn’t even want to send E-mails to remind the team of meetings.  Quickly, the group fell away.

If one wanted the office clean each week, the leader would have to be willing to clean some, too.

3. The leader must start the work, bringing along the followers

Getting a project started is often difficult.  Most of the group members are very happy to have multiple meetings, but often no one is willing to be the first person to put pencil to paper, or start loading equipment onto a truck.  The leader needs to be willing to be the first person to start the work.  For reports, this can mean writing a clear outline. For a manual project, this can mean going out to the shop and getting the equipment ready.  Once the leader starts, others can join in and follow.

In our office-cleaning scenario, the leader would be the first person to pull out a dust rag, and start cleaning their own desk.

4. The leader must allow the followers to change the process, but not the goal

Even though the leader has started the project, they have to be willing to let others complete it.  That is the objective, after all, to get others to help.  This means that the project steps might not be done the exact way the leader has envisioned, but the goal will be reached.

In our office-cleaning scenario, an employee may decide to vacuum before they dust, while the leader would rather dust first.  The good leader will allow the employee to do the work in their own way.

5. The leader must be ready with support, when needed

Erma Bombeck once said that raising a child was like flying a kite.  You run hard, get the kite to lift, then watch it fly. When it dips, you are there to run with it again.  Leading a project is like this.

The office might be cleaned well for many weeks, and then not.  The leader must be ready to find out what the problem is, such as a broken vacuum cleaner.  The leader must then solve the problem, and get the project back on track.

Have a clear, simple message, be willing to get your hands dirty, start the project, allow creativity and run along side to make sure that it keeps going. 

Simple. Now you can get any group to start any project.  Try it!