How to destroy performance — a series of trust crushing behaviour
The responsibility hole
“Team: we have a problem! manager X: could you please ask the C-Level Y how to move forward? C-Level Y: we need to involve the CEO! CEO: we have to do a meeting with all managers and get everyone’s buy-in…”
It’s hard to make decisions and most people are trying to never fail. This is why it’s always good to involve as many leaders into a decision as possible. Advantage is that you obviously asked everyone important of their even more important opinion. Plus in case it’s successful you can reap the fruits. Lastly, don’t forget: if it’s not successful, it’s someone else’s fault.
What you lose
Just think about the scenario mentioned: team member X comes to you with a problem. Instead of going to problem solving mode you start pulling in other people — mostly high profile and not easy to gather around in an instant. It might well be they can only come together after normal working hours or within the next few days. You might have the great idea of asking them to find all conceivable information and run all potential scenarios, because in your eyes that is a must to make a good decision.
You lose time and money because you are slowing the process down. Your team member X becomes frustrated because they got stuck on the issue with you and might secretly reconsider to not come forward next time to avoid the hassle.
While you are still trying to gather all the decision makers and information around you someone else might’ve been braver than you, moves forward quickly and chalks up a win. Businesses are an adventure and those who stick with known ways or get lost in analysis paralysis will stay behind.
A leader who takes no decisions or always wants to involve everyone and everything into the discussion loses effectiveness. Not just for the decision at hand but also in the eyes of their team. They look up to their leaders and want reassurance on direction. They need you to take the lead and be responsible. If you are the one in charge and don’t live up to it, trust in you will be lost and the team will stop to take you seriously.
What you could try instead
You’ve probably heard the saying: A bad decision is better than no decision. This is true because a decision is the only way to move ahead. And moving ahead is needed to reap the next success.
Successful leaders are all about decision making. They might get it wrong several times, but there can only be a good decision if a decision is made at all. You have to embrace uncertainty. You got to try things to be successful. Find comfort in failure and move on. Don’t get this wrong though: it’s not about being impulsive and making decisions without necessary due diligence, but there needs to be a point where you stop and take action. If you are afraid, you are probably going into the direction of growth. Growth is uncomfortable since it asks for going beyond the trotten road. However, in the end this is where the pot full of gold is waiting for you.
Your team will be thankful to see that you take the step forward and lead the way so they can be empowered to perform.
Go back to the series >>> or write me at carolin @ freedomxx. com
