Great Leaders Do Nothing… Obvious

Author: Dave Crisp

18 Oct

A phrase that rumbles through my thinking often is "the best leaders do nothing" or at least "nothing very obvious." It’s a bit of a joke… because we’re all busy, but the message is don’t do things for other people that are properly their tasks. Most importantly, don’t do their thinking for them. This is the core of a coaching approach to leadership.

Bosses feel tremendous pressure to have all the answers and there are lots of times when staff truly want specific decisions, but even more when they don’t. When staff think they might have the answer and what they want is approval, it can still be perceived by the boss as an opportunity for direction. What they really want is to be told do what they think best – encouragement or validation or permission.

It may be tempting to jump in and "adjust" the plan, but if you do, it becomes your plan, not theirs. Since you will now get credit or blame, they feel far less motivated and less conscientious about following through. These subtle differences make for happy employees and successful results… or not.

So the message is… do nothing… when employees ask for help. Ask them what they want to do, what they feel is best. It boosts their egos a bit. It gets them thinking in greater depth. It stimulates their creativity.

If the plan seems weak, ask for more ideas, don’t just addle out a bunch of your own. You can subtly guide by asking, "have you thought about this," but make "this" into a sort of question, too, not a veiled, but direct suggestion. The better approach is, "have you thought about how that would affect….[often some person or group]." That way the individual is encouraged to think more, to take more issues into account, whereas if you simply say, "have you though about contacting so-and-so to ask for X and lay out your plan so they can comment…" now you’re taking over the planning for them. Keep to questions.

Every time you successfully navigate this, you boost the skills and awareness of your staff. You make them stronger for next time. The level of issues they bring you goes up. You’ll know when you need to make a real decision for them, when they truly need your answer. In the mean time, you gain because they grow in ability to do more and leave you closer to having… nothing to do.

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