How a little bit of detective work can make you a better leader

You are here because you want to grow as a leader.?

And maybe you have a team that you need to grow too.?

Are you technically expert at what you do but you want more, and you know that It’s not enough just to be good at what you do????

You now need to create the superpowers of communication, impact and influence in order to maximise your outcomes as a leader.?

You need to be able to talk business, not just tech.

You need to be able to communicate at all levels and be a positive influence in the business.?

You need to be able to bring your team on board and create outstanding performance.?

You need to be able to think strategically, not just down in the weeds of the expertise you have.?

And we already know that what got you here won’t get you there.?

All those years honing your technical expertise made you what you are now.? But it won’t take you to the next level.?

You need to take on new approaches, new techniques and understanding about your team, about you, and about how you fit into the organisation as a whole.?

The Growing Leaders in Business Newsletter focuses on these tools and techniques in a practical and informal way, so you can digest and implement bite sized pieces to upgrade your skills.?

The three essential areas for high performing leaders to master are to create confidence, collaboration and commitment in your teams, peers and investors, and to be able to engage, enable and excite them into coming with you on your journey.??

Each week we focus on different aspects to help you to create these superpowers.

This week we're looking at playing detective...

When it comes to being a leader, we know our main purpose is to create a productive team that works towards a common goal.?

It is not to be able to do everything ourselves or to know everything.? If this was the case, we will be the ultimate blockage in the system.?

The best leader is the person who can leverage the value the team bring by creating a productive, happy and capable team, who know what they are doing and what good looks like.?

The idea is that you can set the direction and they can follow that to create great work towards the goal of the team or business.?

But so often, that is not how it happens.

I want to look at this in terms of three things.

The riddle of Can’t do, Won’t do and Don’t do

These are the three main reasons why people don’t do what you want them to do.?

If you think of this like a detective, which is what I used to be, then you will be able to see clues in the behaviours of your team, that will enlighten you as to why they are not taking initiative and getting on with the job.?

So instead of can’t do, won’t do, don’t do, we want three alternatives.?

• Can Do
• Wants to?
• Will Do.?

We need engaged, excited and enabled people who can be part of a team to make the boat go faster.?

In order to get these three things, we need to create confidence, connection and clarity in where we are going.?

But let’s go back to can’t do, won’t do, don’t do for a moment.?

Can’t do

This is where I am unable to carry out a task. Either through lack of skill or through lack of confidence in their ability. ? Either one of these will stop me from being able to do the thing you want, even if I wanted to.?

Since we are using a detective analogy, let’s take a young police constable out on the beat.? As a police officer, I have a great deal of autonomy to do what I think is right.? But here, let’s imagine I know enough of the law, and am not certain how to make a good decision because I don’t have the knowledge or experience.

It doesn’t matter whether I like you or respect you, or not, or whether I have agreed with you about the vision of what good looks like, if I don’t know how to achieve it, then I can’t make decisions, I can’t take action, and I have to wait for you to tell me what to do.?

This means that you need to “parent” me rather than having an adult-to-adult relationship.? And that doesn’t help you or me.? I can’t grow and you don’t get to delegate responsibility and authority.??

Won’t do

This is a different reason entirely. ? If you don’t have trust, and a connection with the person on your team, or it is a negative connection, then even if the person is able to do the thing you want, they may choose not to.? They are not doing it because of you. Or maybe they are not doing it because of someone else in the team.? But it is something (or someone) personal.?

So, if I have been in the job 5 years and I know how to do every task in the department. But Bob comes along, and he is a right arse.?

And Bob is an obnoxious bully who thinks that the more he shouts or embarrasses you, the more you will give in to his demands.

But the reality is that I am nodding my head in front of him, but behind his back I am working to rule, or refusing to do anything unless he explicitly tells me to.? I may even just wait for him to explain everything because I do not WANT to step up and take responsibility for anything. Why should you make his life easier, especially if he is going to make me feel small.?

So, I don’t.? Not because I can’t, but because I don’t want to do it for him.?

Don’t do.

You may think this is the same as the above reason, but, in fact, it is very different.?

If I just don’t do, it is generally not because I can’t, or I won’t because I don’t like you, but, instead, it is about the fact that I do not believe in “why” you want to do it.? I don’t agree with your cause, your reason, your vision.? And therefore, even though I may be quite capable, I choose not to, even if I like you, or think you are a great boss.?

I may just not want to because the thing you want, I don’t agree with.

Or it could be that I don’t know what the cause or purpose is (because you haven’t told me), so I can’t agree or disagree.? In this case, Because I am probably skilled in my role, I will do what I think is best, and therefore run my own agenda, and it is probably not the same as yours.

As an example, let me tell you about John (name changed to protect his modesty).???

John was an old detective constable in my team who generally sat in the corner telling us young ones (it was a long time ago??) that we had got it wrong, and that isn’t how it has been done for the last 30 years, so we shouldn’t change it.?

John didn’t agree with doing anything differently, and he was very experienced.?

So many times, he was right, but he was not open to even looking at the possibility of doing something a new or different way.?

He actively sabotaged the conversation, and potentially the activities if he could, so that he did not have to participate.?

And if he did, he was disruptive and sullen.

He didn’t agree with any new agenda, and actively sought to make sure it didn’t happen.?

This is a classic case of “Just won’t do”.? Nothing to do with his skill, but everything to do with his opinion of what was the right thing to do.?

And to be honest, there were times when that experience and opinion was incredibly valuable too.? But where we needed him on board, it was super tricky to get him to change.

He ran his own agenda and stuck to it, rather than the bigger picture.

Diagnosing the problem

So, when it comes to creating a high performing team, we need to look at the 3 causes of low team performance and ask ourselves some hard questions.?

• Is it me?
• Is it them?
• What’s going on under the surface?
• Which of the 3 issues is it – cant’, won’t or just don’t
• What can I do to find out, and make it better?

A little bit of detective work here will help you to understand which of the three areas is the main reason for a lack of performance.?

And once you know which area is a problem, we need to understand what has caused that.?

And then we need to look at what we can do to change it.?

What’s missing, what do I need to do, say or who do I need to be to make their response different?

Because every contact we have with people leaves a trace.? It gives a particular response.??

Think of it like this:

“The experience a person has of you is the result that you get from them”.

So we need to dig down and look at the root cause of the outcome we are getting and change our behaviour to change theirs.

We need to build the relationships, the trust and the impact we have so that they are more willing to work with us, be happy and productive and get the job done.?

So, if you would like some help to diagnose the issues you have with your team, and to change the response that you get, then get in touch.??

It’s what we do in our 12-week CTO Impact Accelerator, and it will change the outcomes you have with your team instantly!

Watch our 15-minute live on this subject here

Julie.?

Julie "Chief Impact Engineer" Hutchison

Email: [email protected]

P.S.?Whenever you are ready...here are 4 ways I can help you increase your impact as a leader:

1. Join The "Quiet Leaders Lab? Facebook Group and?connect with other leaders who want to grow

It's our Facebook community where those that are The Quiet Leaders can learn and share how to increase their impact, influence and outcomes –?Click here

2. Grab a free copy of my leadership impact report: The Team Performance Engine?

It’s the Road Map to your journey to increasing your impact as a leader -?Click here

3. Join our Leaders Launchpad??Mastermind Group Programme

This Mastermind is a selected group of like-minded leaders,?in an online community, focused on growing your results.??With training, group coaching calls, guest speakers and more, supporting?and challenging you to design?and implement real team performance in your business.

Send me a message or email [email protected] with "IMPLEMENT" in the subject line and we can discuss how you can join us

4. Work with me and my team privately

If you or your team just need a little more one to one attention to make change happen in your business... just message and put "PRIVATE"?in the subject line... tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!