Leadership: Good Leaders Share New Thoughts, Great Leaders Teach How to Think in New Ways
Is the support you are providing something so valuable, people would be willing to pay for?
Does that question change the way you think about how you contribute to your team as a leader? Leading people is hard. There is never only one way to share information or knowledge for learning. And when working with your team or individuals, understanding how providing advice or direction can vary from coaching is an important distinction.
Sometimes the difference between good and great is subtle. It is also can be the difference between easier and harder. It is a little easier to be good. It is more difficult to be great. Providing advice and insights into a situation in many, if not most situations, is good leadership. Your team, or the individual you are working with, likely will appreciate your perspective. It will feel value-added to them, and you will walk away with a positive interaction. That is easy. It is easy for both of you. They asked a question, you provided an answer or advice, everyone feels good.
The harder approach to that is to not answer the question directly. It is to understand the situation further. Why is this a problem for your team or that individual? What have they considered so far? Have they experienced this set of circumstances before, and if so, what did they do? If not, what do they think they should do? This becomes a more difficult conversation, not because it is uncomfortable or has a negative tone to it, but rather because it is creating work. Mental work. Giving an answer is easy. Receiving an answer is easy. I ask, you answer, I go do what you advised. I don’t have to think too much about what needs to happen next. Everyone gets a shot of dopamine, and we tend to repeat that process the next time an obstacle comes to bear.
That in most people’s eyes is good leadership. I would guess that most of us are guilty of that scenario. I know I am, I still do it more often than I would care to admit. We get busy and in the moment we fall back to the easier, feel good path to address the situation at hand.
The next time you find yourself in this type of situation, pause, then begin to ask questions instead of provide answers. Challenge the person you are working with to think about how they believe they should respond or approach getting to their desired outcome. In fact, verify they know what their desired outcome is. Then continue to ask questions that will guide them to an answer that works for them. It will feel a little more difficult, as they may not have been prepared for the longer discussion and had hoped for a quick answer. But when complete, I am confident that both of you will feel even better than you would have when providing the quick answer. And, more importantly, the person you are working with will have a better roadmap for how to handle situations like that in the future. That is learning. That is coaching. That is great leadership.
How will you help your team think in new ways?
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Photo by Sascha Bosshard on Unsplash