Leaders – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

During my sabbatical, I’m reading on many of the topics that interest me but I have not had time to pursue during a busy daily corporate grind. Many of the topics do not appear on the surface to have a relationship to leading but they might.

The environment and resource utilization is certainly important to business overall but what about the three pillars – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle?

Reduce – A long time ago, I was mentored on this topic from an experienced supervisor.  He told me that as I rise up in an organization I should be sure to cancel as much work as I create!  Most leaders see the need for new things but few remember to reduce work.  Teams really appreciate those bosses that eliminate no longer needed tasks.

Reuse – “NIHS” (Not Invented Here Syndrome) is a challenge for all leaders.  People like to invent their own solutions to old problems.  I was once told that every business issue has already been solved, it is the leader’s responsibility to find the person with the answer.  Encourage your teams to seek existing solutions before they invent one and to document it for others to use in the future.

Recycle – Packaging an existing idea or concept differently often solves a problem faster.  This is particularly true when working internationally.  Something that works in the USA needs to be tweaked in order to be effective in Europe, India or China.  Even if the adjustments are simply to overcome the “we are different” statements of the critics. “LAF” (Look and Feel) should be made local and at the hands of the new users.

Do you have leadership reduce, reuse or recycle examples other LIAV reads would benefit from?