Leadership and the... Gaussian Curve

There are many challenges a leader faces, not to mention the responsibilities he or she must shoulder... but there is no greater challenge than the "Gaussian Curve."
In reality, it is the greatest challenge for anyone, but for a leader it is even more so as he also has to deal with the Gaussian curve of his collaborators/followers... which complicates things quite a bit: but he can't avoid it.

Beyond results...

I've published two books and written several e-books; I've written four plays, one of which was performed at the theater of Vicenza; I've been involved in various professional endeavors; I've coached thousands of people and taught hundreds of training courses; and much more...

What do all these things have in common?

They are all linked to the so-called Gaussian curve, which claims millions and millions of "victims" around the world every day!

I'll explain it to you, but first allow me a brief digression.

We have two major problems: the first is that we're desperately obsessed by results, focusing only on those and evaluating everything based on them; the second is that our average mental and emotional range stretches only a few inches into the future.

We can't go any further, and if we put the two things together,

what comes out is the reason why so many projects fail.



Keeping this aspect clear in our mind, let's dive into this.

What do the activities that I mentioned at the very beginning of the article have in common with the topic of this article?
In all of them, with no exceptions, I went through the stages you can see in the following image.
Horizontally you have the Time axis, while vertically, that of Stress.

The "required" path

When you start something, you start with Enthusiasm; after which, the climb becomes steeper and, at that point, moving forward becomes a Act of Faith; as you proceed you feel the Strain and it's the phase where the greatest amount of energy is spent, especially emotional and mental (physical energy, already for a while) up to the point where Doubt about making it to the end assails you.

Gritting your teeth you get to the top of the curve where the Crisis now reaches its peak.
At that point, as with any other crisis, we have to make a choice: you either give up or you pray your favorite saint (or a more "secular" alternative...) to give you the strength to move on, as you already invested so much in it.

If we give up, it's over; if we go on, after a while, since we decided to proceed with all our will, we summon all our remaining energy. Resolve, something that comes from within us - more at the emotional than the mental level - to push us forward. At that point, having already passed the halfway point, we see the finish line at a distance and this allows Conviction to take us to the very end.

We reach a point in the journey where Anxiety and especially Stress start to loosen their grip and we can finally look forward no longer with Conviction alone, but with Anticipation: basically, in our mind we are already mentally at the end of the journey, energy begins to circulate more fluidly thanks to a much less aggressive stress, giving us the Momentum that we need to cross the finish line.

How to relate to the Gaussian Curve

Many initiatives are "aborted" when they reach the point of Maximum Crisis, but this is precisely where a determined leader with a clear vision makes the difference. Usually, they're the one who launch a project or initiative, while their collaborators/followers just... follow along. And when they aren't paid, but depend on the project's success to see a return on their efforts, things can get pretty ugly for the leader.

It is always at this point that the leader makes the difference, by working
not only on the project itself, but on his own team,
keeping in mind the various phases of the Gaussian curve that
simply cannot be unavoided.

If and when you're aware of the various steps in advance, it is easier - or less difficult - to manage the different moments and keep your team's moods on track.

It's important to remember that leadership is not so much measured
on the results achieved, but on the mental attitude of the leader.



When there are hitches, collaborators/followers look at the leader and their reaction, not at the problem itself, and if they see that this reaction is disproportionate, or worse, the leader turns their attention to the problem instead of reassuring their team and showing some sort of control, the project dies in due time.

A Gaussian curve looks like a mountain.
In reality, pursuing a goal with the steps described above has nothing to do with climbing a mountain because the goal is not reaching the summit, but returning "downstream" on the other side.

The 9 Phases of the Gaussian Curve for Leadership

I'll briefly list the approach that the leader must have for each of the phases mentioned above, keeping one important thing in mind:

Reaching the finish line is the team's goal; the leader's goal is to ensure the team gets there.

1. Enthusiasm - It's normal that at the beginning, without a real awareness of what awaits us, enthusiasm is at its maximum... which is how it should be!
The duration of this phase can vary a lot as it depends on the state of mind with which the team - and the leadership - begins the journey.

2. Act of Faith - Challenges, whether foreseen or not, are starting to make themselves felt. The leader expects it, the collaborators/followers are still fresh enough to not make a drama out of it, and therefore, everything is still solvable with some motivation, and in driving the team to "believe" in what they're doing.

3. Strain - It's the "steepest" point of the curve and, therefore, the one where the strain is at its max.
This too is quite predictable, but the effort required burns much more energy, in the people involved.
However, the validity of the project is not yet questioned and the leader can therefore still count on his credibility and his fervor to move forward.

4. Doubt - This is where the leader's real problems begin. Much has been spent to get this far, and there's still no sign of "land" on the horizon.
Faith inexorably turns into Doubt, in the team, and not even the leader is totally immune to it, but he cannot afford to show it, because everything could collapse: the team must be sure that the leader knows what he's doing! As we're now close to the top, the transition to the next phase is very quick...

5. Maximum Crisis - It's not necessarily the most difficult phase, which ironically may even have already been overcome, but it's the one where tiredness and distrust are most felt.
As with all crises, a choice must be made: in or out, move or give up.
However, if you decide to continue,there MUST be a clear change in strategy and attitude that must be credible enough to persuade the team to persevere.
This is the moment when the team as a whole makes a quality leap, especially on a relational level.

6. Resolve - Once the worst is over, the descent begins... at least at a psychological level, which is what matters the most; difficulties tend to increase, in fact, but the spirit is now different.
With Resolve, Enthusiasm starts sparking up again, although it's of a different kind then when it all started: There is now an awareness that wasn't there before, and this is what that gives strength to our rersolve.
It's the phase where the leader must give his best in order to make the descent, and therefore the approach to the goal, effective and disruptive.

7. Conviction - When there is Resolve, commitment increases and this always produces some results.
In turn, however small these results may be, the Conviction to make it to the end is increased and strengthened accordingly. 
This step is crucial because it's on the other side of Strain: where previously the maximum physical and mental effort was on "climbing", with Conviction you proceed far more hastily.

8. Anticipation - It's no longer a question of "If", but of "When".
All doubts have been completely dispelled, the emotional level is extremely high and it's therefore the state where we mentally "anticipate" the goal, we savor the success, we imagine how different and more fulfilling our life/work will be.
In fact, the leader can now step back and let the team do the rest: a way to help people grow and take on their individual responsibilities.

9. Momentum - We're talking about total simple automatism.
Subject to some recommendations, the team is now able to manage the situation independently.

Conclusion

The goals themselves are important for the sole purpose of consolidating some position (which varies depending on the areas in which they are pursued), but per se, their value only consists on the growth that follows as a result of pursuing them by all the people involved.

The person who reaches Phase 9 is no longer the
same person as Phase 1.

This is the point for all goals.