The Jenga Leader Test
Creating a sustainably successful organization requires that leaders focus on creating structures and systems that are not dependent upon single points of failure. One of my favorite visual for a well structured organization is a Jenga tower. If well designed, pieces can be removed without toppling the entire structure.
As a leader, are you a removable Jenga piece?
If you are a removable Jenga piece then you have created a self-sustaining system. This is not to say that you don’t play a key role, but that you have created a team and a system that can work even in your absence. I use this concept in my executive coaching and refer to it as the “Jenga Test”. Can you be extracted from your team and still have it function? If the answer is no, then you have made yourself a single point of success. Leadership at scale is about creating self-sustaining teams, not hero based individual contributors. Jenga a form of the Swahili word kujenga, which means “to build.” It is very fitting that a leader must be in Jenga mode in order to scale.
When working with mid-level leaders, this concept of making yourself dispensable is often a difficult concept for them to grasp. They feel the need to be the expert, to manage their team and to be the bridge to more senior leaders. The problem with this model is that it makes the mid-level manager indispensable in their current role. If getting promoted and moving into bigger roles is on the person’s radar screen, then they have to embrace the “Jenga Test” concept. The best leaders build great teams. They hire really smart, capable, motivated people and then the focus on driving collaboration between their team members. They optimize team interactions and play more of a coach role. This creates a self-sustaining model which allows the team to operate even in their absence.
I work with many leaders who crave getting promoted, but one of the biggest barriers is the lack of a ready now successor and a team that can thrive even in their absence. This shift in mindset from doer to leader is an important evolution for people leaders if they hope to scale. In my executive coaching sessions, we often discuss succession planning, investing in developing talent and the leader’s legacy. All of these topics are related to passing the Jenga Test.
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