Leadership Beyond a Handshake Part 1: Adaptability

Problem:
​As a leader, it is tempting to hold onto decisions and projects because that's how it has always been.

This is the way it's always been done.

This is a comment that I hear often when working with teachers on topics like innovating their approach or figuring out how to modify strategies from paper to online tools.  There is comfort in the familiar, and sometimes that can become overwhelming.  

Try this scenario. The group works on a project that is due at the end of the month.  The team works tirelessly to develop strategies and approaches that will challenge and support the stakeholders, encouraging them to make decisions that would ultimately lead to a successful opportunity for growth.  

A few days before the due date, the team presents the presentation/ideas to the leader of the group and within minutes the leader changes everything, making the core and purpose of the project dissolve as if they didn't exist.  This is how the projects of the future move on, and ultimately the team decides that the time and energy aren't worth the investment to see nothing grow, so they stop trying as hard and work less, making the products more and more sub-par. 

Seth Godin (and I'm sure others) describe this as the threshing floor.  The place where ideas come to die. 

Time is lost.  No improvement is made. Instead of seeing an opportunity, the team has been capped with a "because I said so". 

What if there was more to the story and the leadership was not about a "final decision" but about trust, development, and improvement over time? 

1. Break the Cycle

Kim Scott writes in her book Radical Candor, "Rather than focus on 'giving feedback' to my team, I encourage them to tell me when I was wrong.  I did everything I could to encourage people to criticize me or at least simply talk to me"  Creating an open culture where the leader can also receive feedback and criticism is important.  The most efficient teams have a space of respect and commitment to the vision that will allow for all to grow through feedback without feeling the pressure from above. 

2. As a Leader, trust those you have hired to be trusted. 
There has never been a person in the history of the world that said, "yes, I will hire you!  I have no trust or confidence in you, but you are part of the team!"

Are you trusting the team that you built (or inherited) to complete the job that you have laid before them?  If not, changes need to be made.  You hire people to your team to be trusted, and outside of grave mistakes and inappropriate behavior, trust can be given and earned. 

3. Expect Greatness Beyond your Own Vision or Understanding
Traditional leaders, a.k.a micro-managers. might look at their teams with a close eye, wanting them to hit the objectives and goals that they have laid out on their teams.  How often though, do you expect more than the initial vision.  Through some self reflection, hope for more is always there, but expectation and reality are sometimes passing in the night.  As a leader, if your example provides the team with opportunities to flourish and expand beyond your own expertise, you are creating a culture of discovery and confidence that cannot be forced. 

4. If you are going to build the Threshing Floor for projects, be a part of the project from the start
The flaw in the threshing floor isn't the idea.  Feedback, discussions, and modifications to ideas are what make successful teams more successful.  There is a constant flow of growth and development until the right elements of the idea click.  The threshing floor is a wonderful place to build up and tear down ideas in order to craft the masterpiece that all envision.  The problem is when the leader takes on the threshing floor at the end and not at the beginning. Be a part of the conversation, not the end voice as you consider what it means to be a greater success. 

Build your Adaptability
​Jeff Bezos is quoted saying, "People who are right a lot listen a lot, and they change their mind a lot.  If you don't change your mind frequently, you're going to be wrong a lot". 

Being wrong is the cornerstone of learning. It is the crossroads where failure fuels success.  Be wrong! Be adaptable enough as a leader to let yourself be wrong and don't pull the "because I said so" to hold your power.  The best leaders are the ones who hire people greater than they are to build their success beyond their own vision. 

More parts of the "More than a Handshake" series will be coming soon!  Keep an eye out for Part 2: "Datalytics"