Imagine that you’ve just joined a new team working on a complex project… minutes into the project, it becomes painfully clear that the person selected to lead has absolutely no technical knowledge of the project. If your leader’s good, this shouldn’t be a problem. But if they’re not, you may be headed for a disaster.

I’m sure we’ve all been there, and with a constant flow of new technologies, privacy regulations, and complex accounting requirements, we’ll all be there again. And this isn’t just a challenge for the corporate world. According to ZDnet (and I’m sure we’ll all agree), this is increasingly becoming a problem facing our politicians as they create laws around technology.

How the less-informed leader acts and relates to their team has a critical affect on whether the project is a success or a disaster. What should you do if you ever find yourself in this situation? We’ve asked the Leader’s Studio Team for their advice…

• Fred Harburg’s Response:
  “Don’t be surprised if you find yourself as the leader of an effort for which you have limited background. The speed of technological, organizational, and legislative change is exponential and that guarantees that you will be the head of something you know nothing about. The ability to operate in an environment of ambiguity and unfamiliarity is rapidly becoming an essential survival skill for leaders.I recently read an interview with Michel Eisner, the CEO of Disney over the past decade, in which he stated that he was never qualified for any leadership position he ever held but he was never afraid to ask for help from those who were. He also stated that he threw himself into learning everything he could as fast as he could in each new situation. Education and leadership is not so much about what you know as it is about your ability to learn how to learn and to learn how to think critically. Leaders of the future are going to have to get a lot more comfortable feeling uncomfortable.”

• Robert Ginnett’s Response:
  “In a situation like this, team members need to withhold the immediate negative reaction and explore ways in which the leader can be supportive of the success of the project. Moreover, the more information the team members openly share with the leader, the faster barriers can be dissolved between the team and the leader—building trust and transparency. Until proven otherwise, the best starting point is to assume that all members (leader and team members) have a common interest in making the project a success and act on that assumption.
  
  This is a wonderful opportunity for a team member to step up and find ways to include the leader; by communicating the technical information in a clear, concise manner and engaging with the leader to understand that person’s perspective. An added plus is that having a leader who doesn’t share the team’s technical knowledge often can be a good preparation for finding ways to communicate the information to other users and clients who operate outside the technical sphere.
  
  I’ve worked for people who had lots of technical knowledge and no leadership ability and I’ve worked for people who were newly assigned to the technical area but were terrific leaders. Ideally, I’d like leader’s who have both sets of skills and abilities but if I have to sacrifice one or the other, I’ll go with the skilled leader every time!
  
  One of the biggest problems I find with technical wizards who get their first team leader job is that they still think their job is to do the technical work. It’s not! Think about it. If the work could be done by a technical genius, we shouldn’t have assigned a team to do the work. But if it takes a team to accomplish the goal, then the leader’s job is not to do the work him or her self—the leader’s job is to lead the team.
  
  What is the team leader’s job? That leads to my definition of leadership: “The leader’s job is to create the conditions for the team to be successful.”
  
  And how does a leader do that? That’s exactly what I’ll be talking about later in The Leader’s Studio.”

• Shirley Grill’s Response:
  “In a situation like this, team members need to withhold the immediate negative reaction and explore ways in which the leader can be supportive of the success of the project. Moreover, the more information the team members openly share with the leader, the faster barriers can be dissolved between the team and the leader—building trust and transparency. Until proven otherwise, the best starting point is to assume that all members (leader and team members) have a common interest in making the project a success and act on that assumption. This is a wonderful opportunity for a team member to step up and find ways to include the leader; by communicating the technical information in a clear, concise manner and engaging with the leader to understand that person’s perspective. An added plus is that having a leader who doesn’t share the team’s technical knowledge often can be a good preparation for finding ways to communicate the information to other users and clients who operate outside the technical sphere.”

• Jodi Taylor’s Response:
  “Leadership is not just about technical knowledge. The best leaders surround themselves with people smarter than themselves. In this era of intellectual capital you are doomed as a leader if you expect yourself to be the top expert on everything. In fact, you may not be the expert on anything related to the project you are heading. If you find yourself in this situation where you now your leader knows little about this particular technical area, don’t panic and don’t jump to conclusions. Learn about your leader – What does she bring to this situation? What leadership roles have she played before? What was the outcome of those situations? How does she define the scope of this project? Take the time to learn about your leader personally as well. What are her passions? How does she define success? How would she like to be communicated with? Finally, discuss what roles different team members might play. Discuss the rules of engagement for the team. Ask yourself how can you help get everyone aligned. Making yourself helpful in thinking through approaches is usually highly appreciated. Remember that team formation takes some time.”

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