A recurring theme in my executive coaching work recently is what I refer to as helping a leader improve their UI (user interface). A leader’s UI is effectively how others access the leader’s individual ‘leadership operating system’, which includes their leadership capabilities, skills, qualities, etc. (You could also think of one’s UI as their ‘leadership style’, but that is far less fun than making software analogies.) Some reading this might suggest what I am really talking about is a leader’s UX (User Experience) – the overall experience one has with a leader. That can be true, too, but I tend to start with the concept of UI as the more practical and tunable aspects of a leader’s interface.
In the world of UI design, there are several basic principles of good design that I believe map nicely to the concept of a leader’s UI, and tend to be where challenges emerge. These are:
Minimize cognitive load: Cognitive load refers to the amount of mental processing power one spends to use a site or app. Overload a user, and they might get confused, overwhelmed, intimidated, miss things, and even avoid the product. The same can be true for leadership and followership. Leaders who keep the cognitive load required to experience their leadership to a minimum are likely to experience greater followership (think approachability, communication style, transparency, no/low drama, etc.). Leaders who don’t will likely experience strained and/or diminished followership.
Consistency is key: Consistency in a user interface allows one to navigate and adopt other parts of a system more readily and increases the value of the system the UI is part of. With leaders, that consistency is also key. Whatever one’s leadership UI happens to be, consistency is more likely to deepen followership through trust and reliability.
Clarity over complexity: This one is my favorite. Overly complex user interfaces create confusion and increase cognitive load. A clear and straightforward interface instills confidence in a user, and encourages them to continue using it and the system it serves. Leadership itself is not simple, but leaders who make followership feel simple, and who make it not overly complex to work with them are helping to ensure followership.
Keep the user in control: This one is a little trickier but hear me out. Users prefer to be in control of themselves and their environment, and not be forced or cajoled. This is also known as agency. A good UI might help ensure agency by regularly delivering insights about a user’s progress, next steps, quality of input, etc. In other words, the UI often provides feedback that can influence (not force) the user to make better choices, modify behavior, and so on. Leaders who invest in coaching those they serve are also helping ensure agency while/through providing insights and feedback that can be helpful towards better choices, modifying behavior, etc. Leadership requires followership (not positional authority), and keeping agency high helps increase the likelihood that followership exists.
My experience has taught me that many leaders have an amazing ‘leadership operating system’ that they continuously invest in refreshing, growing, and improving, but for all sorts of reasons, they do not invest similarly in their UI until it becomes clear(er) that an investment is needed. That is where I come in as a thought partner to help with gaining clarity and an accountability partner to help with driving action.
Need help with your UI, or want to learn more about how I help my clients with theirs? Let’s chat.
(UI principles are inspired by a 2023 CareerFoundry article from Richard Greenan)
