Treat or Train: How to make better quality decisions

Hi there ????. Ready to lead? "Acts of Leadership" helps people, (irrespective of title or tenure), expand their leadership range one experiment at a time. Each issue shares a [pro/e]vocative definition of leadership, an idea and an experiment.

A Change of Scenery

20 years ago I was a rookie coming to the Chamonix Valley for adventure, learning from and alongside good friends.

This week I hooked up with one of them, Dr. Frank Swinton , for the first time since then. In addition to the breathtaking beauty of the Alps, I filled up on long days out, exposed positions and, of course, fromage.

We weren't alone.

Two young men from the next generation were under our care, reminding us that we are 20 years older than we used to be.

We played on glaciers, hiked alpine summits, ascended Via Ferrata and climbed long multi-pitch rock routes high above the valley floor.

We carried the competing tensions of creating learning moments and keeping moving as time evaporated around us in objectively risky terrain.

I love creating these moments of shared intensity, with just a few others, outdoors in wild and beautiful places. These experiences are typically hard-won and where I remind myself of who I am and what I can do.

These moments of adventure are where intimacy (hence trust) is built and important conversations happen.

So of course, I was going to pick Frank's brains on everything leadership.

He knows a thing or two about leadership (though he doesn't readily let on) — from serving on the British Antarctic Survey to creating cultural change inside the NHS, leading on sustainability in medicine and being a parent.

He's developed enough grey hairs to be able to see patterns in what has worked for him and what hasn't when it comes to parenting, leading people, effecting change and reflecting on his impact.

I got great insights in talking with him, not least co-creating this edition of Acts Of Leadership.

A Definition…

"Leadership is... choosing when to sit on your hands and bite your lip."

An Idea…

Treat or Train

There's an aphorism in medicine, "Treat or Train", and it's a powerful structure to connect you to better presence and decision-making.

Leading vs Managing

One tension that often comes up in the coaching room occurs as you progress from being an individual contributor into management and leadership.

It's usually expressed as a question.

?? "How do I balance delivering the work and growing my team"?

When the goal is simply getting the work done, then it can feel expedient to do it yourself.

When you have access to trained/capable resources, then delegation is about project management. It's about the utilisation of capacity, not creating it.

This is management.

When the goal is to support other humans in expanding their capabilities beyond their current level, then you have to sit on your hands and allow mistakes to happen and be okay with progress being slow. And that invariably feels hard.

This is leadership.

Action and Inaction

So what's so hard about sitting on your hands?

You hear the answers in every conversation about delegation and micromanagement.

"I can see where they're not getting it right"

"I can anticipate problems that they cant"

"I can see the smoke of the fire beginning and with one bucket of water I could resolve it right now"

"It's quicker and easier to do it myself"

"It takes longer for me to explain it than to just do it"

"They won't do it to my standards"

Imagine you're a forest ranger and you're paid to sit up in the watchtower, high above the tree canopy, and look for the warning signs of fire. You're looking for the telltale smoke trail rising out of the trees.

The skill of leadership lies in choosing the fires you leave for your people to deal with by themselves. If you're doing everything then what's the point in them being here?

Every situation is unique and multi-dimensional.

You might be aware of 'X', whilst having your full attention on the emerging 'Y'.

You get to choose how you relate to the 'X'. Perhaps you jump in and fix it directly if your team are junior and has better learning opportunities elsewhere.

You might let 'X' continue to smoke as your team works the situation. They'll see it eventually and deal with it. They're learning. They're not as fast as you and they can't anticipate the same way that you can. That's why it's faster for you to do it. But if you do it then they'll still be incapable tomorrow...

How We Learn

Your people don't learn by you doing things for them. If you're a parent perhaps you relate.

Learning has a rider.

? You have to want to learn

? You need real opportunities to learn

? Ideally with real consequences

? In real circumstances

? otherwise it's just a game with low stakes

Treat or Train

Every time you notice the urge to step in and fix or do, consider the opportunity in front of you. Do you directly TREAT the patient (the situation) today, or use the opportunity to TRAIN your people for tomorrow?

It's a powerful reminder to be intentional in how you respond to the situations that present themselves.

The "it's faster to do it myself" approach maintains the status quo.

It doesn't develop capability and it misses opportunities to grow your people.

What does your team gain from this? How do they feel about it?

When you approach these moments with a training mindset you invite your people to expose their mental models; their thinking. You get to see what they know and how they approach problem-solving.

You get to use better-quality questions to invoke curiosity and exploration.

The routine question to the operating theatre nurse, "Did you check the anaesthetic machine"? becomes, "Is the anaesthetic machine going to work?"

Be Transparent

Be transparent when you share your insights. Show your workings. It helps expose your mental models and your strategies for problem-solving.

When you push your opinions, expand them with "...because..."

An Experiment…

?? - Over the next week, notice how you decide which fires to fight and which to stand back from.

?? - Ask for feedback from your team about how they feel about the learning opportunities available to them. Start a conversation.

?? - Pay attention to where and how you share your thinking and processes (show your workings). Practice "treat or train" rather than just doing things yourself or you'll miss growth opportunities for your team.

An invitation to explore…

?? Book: Turn the Ship Around: A true story of turning followers into leaders : L. David Marquet

?? Talks At Google: 7 Myths of Leadership : L. David Marquet [44:08]

Leadership needn't be lonely!

Lead when ready!

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