The Key To Effectively Applying the Amazon Leadership Principle "Are Right A Lot" Might Surprise You.

This is the eighth post in this series about Amazon's Leadership Principles. Writing them has had me digging through my breadth of experiences and learning from my Amazon time. For thirteen years, seven leadership roles, in three countries, the Amazon leadership principles guided my professional decisions and as the year progressed, they increasingly often also provided valuable input to my personal life decisions as well as my philanthropic efforts.?I shared my insights with those I mentored but as my capacity to mentor was limited, I turned to writing as my one-to-many strategy.?This series of posts shares my thoughts on how to apply the Amazon Leadership principles to your career and how to apply them to your role as parent for those who are.

Here is what Amazon says about these principles: Our Leadership Principles are more than inspirational wall hangings. Amazon employees use the Leadership Principles every day as they're discussing ideas for new projects, deciding on the best solution for a customer's problem, or interviewing candidates.

Are Right, A Lot: Leaders are right a lot. They have strong business judgment and good instincts. They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.

This principle is all about your judgement which is such a critical element of leadership and success.?Judgement comes from our learned experiences and also is subject to our inherent biases.?I was proud to be part of the team that added the third sentence. ?"They seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs." Quite a mouthful and even harder to consistently apply.

We know judgement is greatly improved when we seek out diverse perspectives and actively seek to disconfirm our own beliefs. Questions I regularly ask myself include the following. What am I missing??What might I have taken for granted??Where am I making assumptions that might be unfounded? No so difficult, right?! So why do so few people do this? Why did it need to be specifically called out?

It's hard because you need to move away from relying on your own gut and advice and counsel from people "like you". I tell people I coach and mentor that a good way to find valuable diverse perspectives is to ask people you fully expect won’t agree with you.?Who will think your approach is a bad idea??Who do you expect will address the issue much differently? Getting their views will help you see things you might have missed and where you can improve.? What makes this hard is that you are going to hear things you likely do not want to. You will get critiques and perspectives that will challenge you and lets be honest, make you uncomfortable. And we generally prefer to seek comfort and familiar.

Working to disconfirm your own beliefs is even harder. I received a painful lesson in this during my early manager years.?I had an employee I liked and respected.?I had plans to help her grow and develop her career. When I shared them with her, I expected her to be happy but she was definitely not.?As she rightly pointed out, “You never asked me what I wanted.?I don’t want any of those things.?I am happy with the role I currently have and just want opportunities to continue to improve my skills within my current role.”

She gave me important information by being so direct. I could then provide her the opportunities she would value. I was embarrassed I had not thought of asking initially and substituted my own version of success. Since that experience, I consistently work to gather this information before offering to help or give an opinion.?Asking people what they want or think is a great way to be a better manager but also to disconfirm your own beliefs and grow as a person.?

Another effective approach is to do what lawyers need to do regularly. Make the best argument for the opposite point of view.?To do this effectively, you need to act as if it is truly your view and defend it rigorously.?Research support for it, develop the best evidence, truly try the new point of view on and see if you can then view the issue or topic from another vantage point.? (This is also an great debate preparation strategy as I shared with my fourteen year old recently.)

Doing so also helps you network with people who challenge your point of view. You then have the opportunity to specifically ask for critical feedback so you can listen and change as needed. ?I found I not only at times changed my view point entirely, but even when I didn’t, my original position was much stronger, more nuanced and contextual. Those who gave me a perspective I didn't have or couldn't see, gave me such a gift.

That doesn't mean hearing how I can improve is comfortable. In fact, it is very uncomfortable. My first reaction is to want defend myself and figure how they are wrong. What I learned over the course of my career is that tough feedback is truly a precious gift. But to benefit from it, I often need to pause, feel the emotional response first, and when ready, take the time to process and open myself up to what might be painful to hear.

Let's face it, we all want to be perfect (or maybe that's just me). But I know too well I am not, so each person that gives me an opportunity to see a way to improve has made an invaluable contribution to me becoming the best version of myself. It takes courage to provide constructive feedback because you never know how someone will react and you take a risk that might cost you. It's why many people hold back, understandably.

If you want to get more of this invaluable feedback, ask questions like this. Please tell me where I could do better? I want to hear what I do that makes your job harder? Where do you think I could be more effective? I specifically told team members, while I am interested in know what I am doing well, I am MOST interested in where I could do better.

As a recovering perfectionist (no, I don't think that is a positive thing), one of my favorite Maya Angelou quotes is, “Do the best you can.??And when you know better, do better.”?And this leadership principle has truly helped me continuously strive to “know better” so I can “do better.” And it can do the same for you.

Read more at?https://ellenoreangelidis.com/ You can also find me on Twitter:?ellenorea, Facebook:?https://www.facebook.com/LEAD-LLC-Lead-Empower-Activate-Dream-Ellenore-Angelidis-121749049220884/?and Instagram?https://www.instagram.com/ellenore_angelidis/

I write more on my personal blogs:?Balancing Motherhood and Career?and?Ethiopian Ties?as well as Adoptive Families Circle,?Melting Pot Family