Which function in your organization is the main driver of your business (they lead and everyone else follows)?

Our reader poll today asks: Which function in your organization is the main driver of your business (they lead and everyone else follows)?

• Marketing 11.00%
• Sales 28.02%
• Operations 29.44%
• Finance 9.93%
• Research & Development 3.90%
• Product Development/Management 6.73%
• IT 2.12%
• Some other group/function 8.86%

Who is the “alpha?” While there’s a broad mix of which part of respondent organizations “lead” the company, what you all have in common is there is one major function that leads decision-making considerations. What’s important for you is understanding which group is the “alpha” and what kind of dysfunctional behaviors or risks that can create. For example, if Operations is the alpha and they focus on efficiency and keeping costs low, make sure that doesn’t come at the expense of growth and trying new product ideas. If the alpha is Finance, beware of short-term focus on hitting this quarter’s numbers at the expense of long-term strategic investments. If the alpha is Sales, beware of driving top line revenue through discounting at the expense of having healthy profit margins. While it’s great to have one strong organizational leader, each carries its own risk. Assess that risk and make sure appropriate checks and balances are in place.

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 240,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.