We have all encountered leaders who feel they are (and must be) the smartest person in the room. I have experienced them many times. My biggest errors occurred when I thought I knew everything and did not seek out those individuals who could give me more information or act as a sounding board. This type of arrogance can be unintentional or quite intentional. For some, it begins with a promotion, being told they are smart or acquiring some accolade or title. Sometimes, these types of leaders relish the attention, power, and control but ultimately become a bottleneck or constraint to productivity. Regardless of the reason, I want to offer some helpful ways to 1) not become this type of leader and 2) help the team make the best decision.
First, make decisions WITH your people. Solicit input and when that input sways your decision, call it out in a positive way. “That is a good thought, and it is a little different than what I was thinking. I think we should . . . “. Don’t be scared to admit an idea is good and perhaps you were wrong. If you are never wrong, you are likely not honest or not challenged.
Also, offer some alternatives to their initial thoughts. Sometimes these alternatives are not meant to change the decision but to vet it. “That is a good thought, but what happens in this scenario if . . . what are your thoughts in that case?” Be ready if the answer is, “well, I guess it won’t work.” You do not want to shoot down people’s ideas or creativity, but if the scenario completely blows the idea out of the water, then so be it. You could use their thought process to move down another line of exploration. If the mentee is just giving up, quickly restate the idea and the premise, then offer more thoughts but continue questioning the scenario. Remember, you do not have all the perfect ideas, and most implemented ideas are not perfect. You are just trying to get the best, although not perfect, idea on the table.
As demonstrated here – Ask questions! You can help your mentees by questioning them to the answer. Through these questions, they can see the logic you use to reach your decisions. Likewise, you will learn how your people think and broaden your thinking. Questions allow you not to have the answer and vet your own ideas without being wrong.
I will talk about using questioning periodically. I feel it is a powerful and underused tool. Become a questioning master! I will try to help!
Until next time!
Dr. Dave