The integrator is the bread to the visionary’s butter. They are everything a visionary isn’t. Their strength lies with their love for the day-to-day and making organizational clarity a top priority. They are the worker bees that bring the visionary’s ideas into reality. Although the integrator doesn’t get the same recognition the visionary does, they often prefer it this way. Their behind the scenes work is just as critical as the visionary’s role. Just like the visionary, however, there are a set of things the integrator is great at and another sect of traits that they’re not so good at. Let’s explore some of these strengths and weaknesses and how the integrator is the match made in heaven for a visionary.
Integrator strengths
Where you find clarity in an organization, you’ll find an integrator. Integrators love to turn chaos into clarity with systems and organizational accountability. As described in the book Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters, the integrator is often seen as “the steady force”. Frequently, they act as the filter for ideas from the visionary. They can separate emotion from an idea and make sure bad ideas don’t progress into obstacles for their company. This is something a visionary needs to rely on an integrator to do because they often have so many ideas that they have a hard time filtering the good from the bad. Team cohesion and leadership are two things an integrator values strongly and it shows in the way they conduct their work. Integrators are also incredibly skilled at developing talent and making sure that the right people are being recruited for the right jobs. They are the perfect antidote to the visionary’s deficienies in every way.
Hardships
In reality, the integrator spends much of their time behind the scenes. Everyone’s heard of Walt Disney. He was the creative visionary who started the largest and most successful entertainment company in the world! Walt would not have been able to accomplish what he did without his brother Roy as Walt has stated himself. Roy, Walt’s far less recognizable brother, was Walt’s integrator. He was good at everything Walt wasn’t, such as running the day-to-day, and to paraphrase what Walt once said, “he kept my bills paid”. Everyone recognizes Walt as the brilliant visionary who created Disney, and that he was, but his brother Roy had just as much to do with Disney’s success as Walt did. To be a great integrator, you need to understand that it is more or less a thankless job. The recognition will more than likely go to your visionary counterpart and this can be hard to accept. By nature, integrators aren’t typically people that seek recognition as a primary motive for achievements, however, it could get frustrating and create resentment between the two parties if it isn’t understood and accepted upfront.
Integrators can also often be viewed as pessimists because their role requires them to say no to more ideas than they say yes to. This pessimism can make integrators feel bitter as they’re often looked at as the bad guy, usually by their visionary. To make matters worse for integrators, part of being in charge of organizational clarity means that you’ll need to have uncomfortable conversations about discipline with subordinates when expectations aren’t met. This is another instance in which the integrator’s role puts them in the “bad guy” position. All of these hardships can make the role of being an integrator a lonely one at times. All that being said, being in the position of integrator is a noble one as it is imperative to an organization’s success.
A match made in heaven
Most of the time, it is the visionary that looks to seek out an integrator. For so long, the visionary has been putting the company on their back and wearing every hat to make sure the bills get paid and the lights stay on. This can get extremely exhausting fast as many of the hats the visionary will wear that are suited for an integrator are extremely fatiguing for them. Many times, an integrator might already be a part of the company, they just need to be found. Other times, visionary’s will look elsewhere to find their counterpart. Either way, the results are the same. Everything that has been bogging the visionary down can be seamlessly taken over by a good integrator who will thrive doing what a visionary hates. Having a visionary and an integrator doing what gives them the most energy in their day-to-day experiences will help a company grow leaps and bounds beyond what it would be if one tried to do it without the other. Their harmonious relationship is the perfect solution to a successful business.