“How Can I Help?”

These contagious words of Dr. Max Goodwin from the NBC hit series New Amsterdam should resonate with each of us as leaders now more than ever. 

If there is anything we have learned from the heroes in our health systems fighting on the front lines of the COVID 19 pandemic, it’s that there is untapped potential within each of us to perform at a higher level when purpose calls us to action. 

We have all been inspired by the stories we have seen, of individuals and organizations stepping into humanity’s most urgent time of need, and asking “How can I help?”. Where our eyes have typically been focused on driving performance and profitability, they have been lifted higher to focus on people and on a purpose that transcends anything else that previously mattered - saving lives. 

The most powerful question we can ask as leaders is “How can I help?”, and it shouldn’t take a pandemic for us to pause and ask it. There is a direct correlation to the growth and performance of our people, and our organizations, to how often we ask this question as leaders - and how much time we take to deliver on the answer.

It has been said that all performance discussions come down to assessing “skill vs will.” Often we can have highly skilled individuals on our team who are not tapping into the fullness of their potential due to lack of will. Other times we can have highly motivated individuals on our team who are willing to perform, but lack the skillset to do so. The key to closing both of these gaps is investing time into alignment conversations of purpose, and investing resources into the development of our people. It’s pressing pause, taking our eyes off of the horizontal path of performance, placing the them on the vertical path of purpose, and asking “How can I help?”

When we focus on aligning our people’s individual purpose with our organization’s purpose they experience JOY in their work. They contribute at a higher level of their potential, and they perform at a higher level in their role (High Skill, High Will). They become DEVELOPERS within our organizations. 

If we just focus on performance and don’t take adequate time for  conversation to align individual and organizational purpose, our people will eventually become INDIFFERENT about their work, and will not contribute at the level they are capable of (High Skill, Low Will). They become DOERS in our organizations. 

If we don’t take adequate time to discuss the potential our people see in themselves, and fail to invest in their development to equip them to perform at a higher level, they become FRUSTRATED in their work (Low Skill, High Will). They become DISTRACTORS in our organizations. 

If our people don’t see the potential in themselves that we see in them as leaders, and we don’t take the time to coach or develop them, they become DEPRESSED in their work (Low Will, Low Skill). They become DETRACTORS in our organizations.

We have the ability as leaders to ultimately decide who our people become in our organization, and how they experience their work. Both are directly determined by the amount of time we spend on aligning their individual purpose to our organizations purpose, and the time we spend investing in their development. 

For far too long the most frequent question we have asked as leaders has been “How do we increase performance?’

The most frequent question we should be asking as leaders is “Who are we helping our people become?” 

The way that we do that is by asking the most important question we can ask as leaders - “How can I help?”

When we focus on leading our people towards a common purpose, and we pause to ask the right questions, we unleash the fullness of our potential and theirs - and we increase performance as a result. 

If we can find time to pause and ask the right questions in the middle of a pandemic, how much more so do we have the time to ask them in times of prosperity? 

Leadership worth following is purpose-focused, creating an environment that develops people. The higher your purpose, the higher capacity for potential and performance.

Now is the time for leaders to refocus on your purpose, to reconnect with your people, to realign your organization, and to reflect and ask ... “How can I help?”