In today’s vlog, @lornerubis and I discuss how leaders can go awry in the heat of the moment or the middle of the situation. It’s difficult to make good decisions in the midst of action and uncertainty. Leaders need to get out of the “weeds” and jump onto the “deck” to see the whole situation and its possibilities. Being on the deck will help teams mobilize around the right problems.

Leaders need to recognize that once they clarify what they need, they need to get out of the way and trust their teams to get it done. Otherwise, they reduce the team’s confidence and rob it of opportunities to learn.

Yes, we often jump in because we want to get things done. But to maintain good teams, you have to let them have that satisfaction, even if it doesn’t happen exactly the way you want. Adaptive leadership begins on the deck and must remain there if you want successful change.

Here are the takeaways from this episode:

  1. Remember to step back when you give your team its goals, even if they struggle a bit.
  2. Involve your team in creating clear goals and developing plans to reach them.
  3. Use “pop-ups” to get a team to co-create the way forward.
  4. Don’t rob your teams of opportunities to learn. They’ll stumble, but you have to coach instead of taking over so they can build confidence.

Here’s to disrupting sameness and achieving #betterwork.

Lynette