Three Tips To Become An Ambidextrous Leader

You can find many different definitions in academia for what an ambidextrous leader is. Not surprisingly, many of these definitions make absolutely no sense in the real business world outside of a thesis or a classroom, so I would recommend not even wasting time trying to understand them. You live in the real world, and you’re trying to run a business, not write a thesis.

I remember years ago when the manufacturing manager asked me if I wanted quality or volume. My answer was “yes.” That question captures the whole idea of ambidextrous leadership. Leadership is not, nor should it be, a binary choice of this or that. To make any a company a success, it must be both.

You know as a leader, the world of business is not binary. The world of business is messy, unpredictable and dangerous. You don’t get “if this, then that” choices. You have to balance short-term earnings with long-term results. You have to satisfy not only your employees, but your customers, boards and shareholders as well. And each of those constituents has different expectations and demands. Welcome to the world of ambidextrous leadership.

These are the three most important steps to become an ambidextrous leader:

1. Watch the numbers like a hawk. My philosophy is this: if you make the numbers today, then you will very likely make the numbers this week. And if you do what you have to do to make the numbers this week, then you will make the numbers this month—and then every month after that, and before you know it, you made the numbers for the year. The point is this: everyone is dead in the long run. There is no long-run for a business that can’t make the numbers today. I used to work for a guy who was so obsessed with elaborate strategic plans that he ignored the business of today. He loved to live in the future because today was ugly and depressing. The company was bleeding red ink, and he would spend enormous amounts of money and time on strategic planning. He never fixed the business of today, and eventually the business went belly-up. So, the first step in ambidextrous leadership is to make the numbers today. If you make the numbers for today, you will have the profit and breathing room to look after tomorrow.

2. Balance your earnings of today with your investment in tomorrow. In my company, over half our sales today did not exist 10 years ago. They resulted in investments I made then in acquisitions, product development, and marketing. The tricky part is deciding how much profit to distribute to shareholders (they would prefer to get all of it) vs. how much to invest in futures. A rule of thumb I use is about 10% of profit gets plowed into futures. Some people would say that is too much; others would say it’s too little. If you are in pharmaceuticals, it is probably too little. If you are in the grocery business, it is way too much. The point is to do whatever you can afford and still satisfy your shareholders.

3. Be a wizard of communication. You have to be very good at communicating the same message, but in different ways to your constituents. Shareholders want to hear that earnings, and therefore dividends, will increase in the future. Customers want to hear that your investments will provide higher quality, lower prices, and better service in the future. Your employees want to hear that they, indeed, will have a future. Remember what I call the three Cs of crucial communications: clear, convincing and compelling. Be very clear about what you are telling them. Now is not the time for what I call “fuzzy communications.” Your message also must be very convincing. You need all your stakeholders to be convinced the futures investments you are proposing will pay off. And finally, it must be compelling to motivate people to take action. The argument you make for future investments must be compelling enough, so all your stakeholders buy in.

And don’t just paint a rosy picture of the future. Describe what the future will look like if you don’t invest in it. I make sure to expand both on the good things that will happen if we do this, and the bad things that will happen if we don’t. People are more motivated to avoid bad consequences than they are to embrace good ones, so talk about both the good and the bad. Doing so makes a more compelling argument.

Ambidextrous leaders walk a fine line between now and the future. Ambidextrous leaders are constantly adjusting what needs to be done today with what needs to be done for the future. People are generally more concerned with the here and now than they are with the future. That is what makes the job so difficult. It is a high wire act to be sure. Just remember this: the future is coming whether you like it or not. If you don’t plan for it, and it turns out badly, your shareholders won’t blame themselves, they will blame you. By embracing ambidextrous leadership and balancing today’s demands with tomorrow’s opportunities, you will not only secure your company’s future but also leave a lasting legacy of resilience and adaptability.