Coach's Challenge - "Be Humble"

 

I was doing some reading on the topic of "servant leadership" last week, and I rediscovered an article in Harvard Business Review that I'd read a couple years back.  In it, the author explores the concept of leaders serving the people they lead rather than trying to exert control.   The author really highlights the point that the true value managers bring to an organization is not necessarily being a gatekeeper or order-giver, but rather creating an environment where team members (people actually creating value the customers consume) are enabled and empowered to innovate, solve problems, grow and improve.  This, of course, helps us all to create a culture that reinforces an agile mindset!  Key Excerpts from the article, How Humble Leadership Really Works  "When you’re a leader — no matter how long you’ve been in your role or how hard the journey was to get there — you are merely overhead unless you’re bringing out the best in your employees." "Power... can cause leaders to become overly obsessed with outcomes and control, and, therefore, treat their employees as means to an end.  ...This ramps up people’s fear — fear of not hitting targets, fear of losing bonuses, fear of failing — and as a consequence people stop feeling positive emotions and their drive to experiment and learn is stifled." "By focusing too much on control and end goals, and not enough on their people, leaders are making it more difficult to achieve their own desired outcomes." "Servant-leaders have the humility, courage, and insight to admit that they can benefit from the expertise of others who have less power than them. They actively seek the ideas and unique contributions of the employees that they serve. This is how servant leaders create a culture of learning, and an atmosphere that encourages followers to become the very best they can." "Servant leadership emphasizes that the responsibility of a leader is to increase the ownership, autonomy, and responsibility of followers — to encourage them to think for themselves and try out their own ideas." The article goes on to give a few ideas on how managers can help create a culture of growth, learning (and ultimately success) with those they are charged to manage and lead. My favorite idea from the article (and consequently the one that is this coach challenge) is... "Ask how you can help employees do their own jobs better — then listen."

Instead of telling team members how to do their job better... The next time you are reviewing a team's metrics or their progress - instead of directing the team to do something differently, ask them "How can I help you to more effectively and efficiently achieve the team's objectives?"  Genuinely listen to their feedback and help them to activate on a new idea.  If they need an impediment removed that is outside of their direct control, help them to remove it.  If there are things that they feel they (as a team, or individually) can do differently to help their team achieve their shared objectives, support and encourage them to do it.  Help them to identify and measure how their idea helped their team to be more effective, efficient and engaged.  If their idea didn't materially improve things, celebrate the fact that we now know, and encourage them to try something else! One of the most powerful things you can do as a manager is creating a space for your team members to feel safe to experiment, learn, and grow. Commit to this coach's challenge and help your team members become the empowered, passionate, customer-obsessed people we know they can be!  In the short run, it will help them build confidence.  In the long run it will help us to be a better bank for our customers! We all win together. Coach Dan-