Do you ever find yourself wondering how to inspire others while also getting the job done accurately and on-time?  Do your colleagues feel that they are not growing in their current job or are not building new skills for the future?  Do you spend a lot of time completing/finishing/editing/correcting tasks that your colleagues or your employees should have gotten right the first time?

Whether you are a formal manager, a senior person on your volunteer team, or a leader of yourself, each of you has an Opportunity to Lead.  To be a role model.  To learn and grow intellectually and skill-wise.  To prepare for the future.  To have future aspirations and to make a plan to get there.

I know this concept well.  During my career at a Fortune 100 company, I have found myself doing the jobs of others because:

 

(A) The task would take way too long to show them how to do it (and to teach the thought process behind the work);

(B) I could complete the task more efficiently and with greater accuracy;

(C ) See A & B above.  Then See A & B above again.  Basically a repeating cycle of, “If you want the job done right, do it yourself.”

 

In reality, it may be time to step back and invest the time to teach your colleagues, your employees, or your peers HOW to fish for themselves so that they can be empowered to find answers and grow professionally.

If your employee or colleague is competent and CARES about his or her career success, the time you spend creating a teaching/learning environment can pay dividends by freeing you up to focus more on strategy…on consulting with clients…on building next year’s business plan…you know, LEADING and ACTING like a CEO!

 

Demonstrate Your “Learning Approach” to Getting the Job Done

As She’s Her Own CEO, a great way to be a role model is to show you’re not afraid to ask questions.  Let people around you observe how YOU ask questions.  You will be respected for it as a leader AND set the right tone for their professional behavior.

Think of your top employee and think of your lowest-performing employee.  Your top employee has the best skills, no doubt, but she also wants to do the job correctly.  She not only gets the job done (the WHATs of the job), but she completes tasks using the right approach and the right mindset (the HOWs of the job).  She has the right level of confidence to not feel inferior in asking a clarifying question because she knows that details are important.

The next time your colleague or employee gets stuck on an assignment and no one on the team has the answers, call a brief meeting with the subject matter expert (SME).  This is the person that owns the process and knows it from top to bottom.

On the meeting invitation, publish the agenda of what you want to cover, topic-wise.  When you get to the actual meeting, kick it off, introduce everyone, and lead everyone through the agenda.

 

Here’s the trick.  Even if you already know the answers, go ahead and ask the SME some questions.  By doing this, you are setting the right example and creating the behaviors you want to reinforce with your team.

Start with topic-overview questions and then work your way into the details.  Look around the room and make sure the attendees are paying attention.  Bring them into the conversation with something like this:

“Wow, we were just talking about XYZ topic as a team yesterday.  Lori, you have a great example and tried everything to get that international transaction to successfully process.  Tell us what happened when you tried ABC and got stuck?”

Lori (your team member or colleague) now sitting in this comfortable, safe learning environment (which you have created) may now feel empowered to speak up, download/vent, ask questions…

In other words…she will figure out what it takes to SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

Regardless if you lead a group of docents at the local art museum, are a sales team lead, or are a mother of 5 children, showing others that you’re willing to put your own ego aside for the sake of SOLVING THE PROBLEM is a powerful tool to instill the right problem-solving behavior in them.  It also sets the standard of what you expect.  Even when you’re not sitting in that meeting next time.

After all, when they’re on their own and you’re too busy being tasked with, well, your OWN tasks…you want them to ask questions.  After all, you’re expecting them to be informed and to do the best job possible!

 

Have you shown someone “how to fish” for themselves?  Subscribe to the blog, and share below!

xo Kathryn