It’s not uncommon for me to be asked to coach someone who’s finding it hard to lead a team, whether due to being a new leader, a team that’s not performing or something in between.
The business really wants to help them, give them the tools and techniques to lead so that the results are great.
Often though it’s not tools and techniques they need.
It’s not a skills challenge.
My Dad’s a straight talking, no nonsense engineer. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out his parenting style.
When I got my first car, a bit of advice, well not so much advice, more instruction, was never let the fuel light come on. If it’s on, means crap in the tank is now being pumped around the system, impacting performance.
That ‘advice’ makes me think about how many times we let our light come on.
In my role as a facilitator, I’m an expert on nothing
really, but I know one thing; I do get lots of attention.
Stood in front of people, all listening to my every word,
doing the things I ask them to do. It’s a nice feeling. It’s a powerful
feeling.
Attention’s nice isn’t it?
So, how many followers do you have on Twitter? Instagram?
How many friends do you have on Facebook?
I have a dig bick. You that read wrong. You read that wrong
too.
Shocking isn’t it?
Not the message, which after all makes no sense at all, but
the fact that we can get it so wrong. The reason, as you have probably guessed,
is all down to one simple thing: our brain’s persistent and hard-wired tendency
to take short cuts.
What you have just read comes directly from Professor Damian
Hughes book,
