Effective leaders foster collaboration and empower their team by involving them in problem-solving, rather than relying solely on their authority, to cultivate the skill and will to successfully implement solutions.
Primary Implication
The use of position or power to compel people to act or manipulate them will never lead to a profitable business with predictable cash flows.
You influence people to act when you connect them to the vision of what needs to be done and how they’ll know it’s done. Maintaining the desire to act involves management skills that help those you need to act to see the results of their actions
Overview
The most effective leaders are skilled problem solvers who recognize when it is best to jointly work through problems over immediately jumping in with their answer. They slow down their natural tendency to leap in with an answer and instead involve the other person in coming up with a permanent solution. They are also known to do the following to influence people to act:
- Are slow to use their power base to influence others. They recognize that using threats causes you to pass up a teaching moment, whereas using power to cut off conversations keeps people from the very information they need to make effective choices.
- They value employees acting because they understand natural consequences, not because they fear their leader will administer new consequences. Understanding natural consequences is improved by linking all requests to those you need help from– explain both what and why.
- With changes, they slow down to explain what differs and why. They know that it is important to keep employees informed and motivated by making timely updates and carefully explaining how circumstances are now different by linking new actions to new consequences.
- They look for the “why” that will motivate naturally when they see their people are unmotivated. To find the right “why,” go on a consequence search. Keep explaining stakeholder consequences until you find one that the other person cares about.
- Their goal is always to get the other person to do what is right, not to do what they want. That is, keep explaining consequences until the other person cares or realizes that he or she is starting down the path to discipline and agrees to comply to stay out of trouble.
By involving others, you empower them. You provide them with both the means and motive to overcome problems. You do this by allowing them to help you work through a problem. As you work together, you develop the following benefits for both you and your employee:
Ability = Skill
- When you involve others in solving problems, you get to hear their ideas.
- When people help create potential solutions, they are more likely to be motivated to implement. Consider how “effectiveness = accuracy x commitment.”
Motivation = Will
- Most problems have multiple solutions. How effective a particular solution is depends on how much the person implementing the action believes in it. That is where commitment comes into play.
- A solution that may be tactically inferior, but that has the full commitment of those who implement it may be more effective than one that is more accurate, but resisted by those who have to make it work.
When solving ability problems, only involve others if you are willing to listen to their suggestions. Also, avoid leaping in with suggestions until you have given others a chance to share their recommendations.
