Leadership Isn't For Cowards: How to Drive Performance by Challenging People and Confronting Problems

Chapter 10

Are You Good at Analyzing?

If you have been in leadership for any period of time, you have probably become a decent analyzer. Analysis is about examining, scrutinizing, studying, investigating, and evaluating. The ability to analyze helps you solve problems, make decisions, and generally keep your organization on track. Whatever score-keeping method or metrics you use, I’m sure you leverage your analysis in a way that drives results.

The question is: Do you use your analytical capabilities to courageously make decisions and reduce behaviors that do not support the results you want?

“Are you good at analyzing?” is a yes or no question. It boxes you in. There is a reason for that cornering; while your analytical skills are most likely good (if they aren’t, I am sorry to tell you that this book isn’t going to help with that), it is equally likely that your utilization of that analysis needs work. You either are or are not a good analyzer, hence the question, but it’s what you do with the data and information you analyze that makes you a good leader. That subject is more complicated.

Most people think analysis is strictly on the scientific side of your leadership. They see it as a cold, calculated evaluation of numbers, strategies, and formulas. For some leaders, analysis is also a process that allows them to pretend (and remember that pretending is a bad thing) that they are busy and delay decisions. Yeah, yeah, I know, you have to do good analysis before you can make a ...