Curiosity. An exercise in leadership.
The age-old debate between leadership and management has raged for decades. Clearly, we need both. The problem is that most graduate schools teach management while most employees long for leadership.
If you want to be sure you are leading and not merely managing your team, consider this challenge. What would you do if you knew nothing about your team or what they did? …nothing about the people…nothing about the work?
What you would do is leadership.
First, you would establish trust. Without technical competence, you’d build trust by investing time with your people and looking for ways to help them. You’d find out who they are, what they do, why they do it. You’d tell them that you need them (because you do), and you’d show them that you are for them.
Next, you would connect the dots. You'd figure out why their jobs exist and how they connect to the goals of the organization. Everyone wants to feel important and know that their work matters to their leaders, but since you don’t know the answers, you’d have to ask. By asking, you’d challenge your team to articulate their value, elevating their clarity and conviction in the process.
Finally, you would stay curious. People would give you grace for a little while, so you’d use it to get up to speed, not as an excuse to stay clueless. You would show that you really want to understand their work. Shadow them so you can better understand their point of view…see the hours, the systems, the duties, the administrative BS (er…bewildering stuff) they have to put up with to get their job done and get paid.
Over time, you would prove what you value by making decisions. You would prove your trustworthiness by the way you respond to bad news, support someone who is struggling, or correct someone who messes up. (For example, would you first ask how they are doing or ask how they’re going to fix a mistake?)
Sound academic? It might to me, too, if I hadn’t lived it.
In 2003, a leader took a bet on me. Locked on a shared vision of world-class service, he hired me to lead a company I knew nothing about. I was excited (and scared to death).
Clueless, I had no choice but to ask questions. Lots of questions. What do you do? What do you like most about working here? What do you like least? What should we be doing that we aren’t? What are we doing that we shouldn’t? How could we improve our service to customers? How could we improve our service to you?
I’d love to tell you this was by design. It wasn’t. I wanted so badly to manage the team…to offer advice, make smart moves, improve our finances…I simply didn’t know how. If only I'd known I was learning to lead.
On a much grander scale, this happened to renowned US Navy submarine captain, David Marquet, author of “Turn The Ship Around”, when he took over the worst-performing nuclear submarine in the US fleet.
He was supposed to take over a different vessel, so he studied that ship’s systems, crew, and performance. Then at the last minute, he was redirected to lead the USS Sante Fe as it readied for deployment. There was no time to learn the technical details of the ship, so he had to rely on his new crew. He leaned into them. He looked for ways to help them succeed. He led.
In time, David became a more effective manager of the USS Sante Fe, but that wasn't what propelled it to the highest performance in the fleet. It was his leadership.
A similar story attracted me to OneDigital. Even before interviewing, I learned that our Chief People Officer Elizabeth Chrane had previously led marketing, not HR. Unable to quote employment law, she relied on her team for compliance. Unfamiliar with the role of CPO, she became a student of the role…all the while championing the culture and lifting up her people.
So, back to you. What would someone do if they took over your team knowing nothing about their work?
How curious would they be? How much time would they help connect the dots between what people do and the goals, mission, vision, and values of your organization versus telling people how to do their jobs? What if you did more of that?
Again, I don’t mean to imply that management isn’t important. Competence in finance, operations, marketing, sales, and service is vital to long-term success. It just isn’t a substitute for leadership…like showing people that you see them as unique and valuable, demonstrating that you care for them as human beings, and figuring out how to help them be successful.
I certainly don’t have this mastered. Few do. I write this as much as a reminder to myself as to encourage you. I merely know that it matters. If we are to win the war for talent and fulfill the mission of our organizations, we must remember to stay curious and lead.