As a leader, you’re allowed to NOT have all the answers.
While you may be in a decision-making leadership role, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you must have all of the answers to make the best decisions, ALL the time. It’s a challenge many professionals share that can have them go into freeze-mode, questioning their value and losing confidence. These are smart, educated professionals who confidently know their domain area and why they earned the roles they’re in.
Unfortunately however, the inner crow will attempt to keep you small every time and is indiscriminate – it pays no attention to your title or compensation.
Even if you mustered up the courage to ask for others’ input, the worry begins. You are now concerned that you may be perceived to be seeking validation and are ineffective to be in your role, let alone lead a team to success.
Fact: “Successful leaders have years of making split-second decisions when under intense pressure. However, their overall success rate from making those gut instinct decisions didn’t develop on day one. They have years of experience and any number of unpredictable failures under their belts. They can’t rationalize their perspective or explain it; they simply trust how they feel.” – Chapter 1, Own Your Authority. https://www.ownyourauthoritybook.com .
Before I forget, I want to be sure you know about my leadership audio course (it’s free) that’s designed to help you own your authority in your career by applying 5 top strategies and it works. It’s based on two decades of leading in Corporate America, (I’m a former Wall St. Executive) and those professionals I coach here at In Our Shoes.
Back to decision-making…although it’s understood you are expected to find the best solutions and direct your team to impactful outcomes, a big part of your role is also to harness the collective intelligence of your team. This is not only your most key asset but your team members want you to tap them for their expertise, feel valued and appreciated for their feedback. 🤝 Just as you want to feel valued in your role, right?
When seeking their input, ask questions about the potential impact and risks of the direction you’re considering. Gaining this diverse perspective can unveil insights you might have missed because you’re not as close to the ground and in the details as they are, let alone aware of the practical scenarios that would arise. đź’ˇAnother reason why relying on your team who are in in the bowels of day-to-day workflows and issues is a trusted approach that helps everyone be successful. It’s why good leaders when they’re out there promoting their team, speak the ‘we’, not ‘me’.
When I look back at the common themes that effective leaders have, one trait they all share is that they allow others to “plus” their ideas when making decisions. In other words, they’ll throw out a few thoughts and then ask their team for input to make them even better than theirs. They don’t have it all figured out and know that in a creative-solution session they’ll plant a seed around what they are thinking and allow others to punch holes in it or improve their line of thinking. No need to feel that you are leading in a vacuum. You can say that you “have more questions than answers, but here’s what I am thinking…” and let the chips roll allowing your team to shine and contribute with their best advice.
YOUR NO-ACTION ACTIONS
“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.” – Molière
A pattern I’ve noticed over the last 20 years of coaching professionals is that as humans, we can easily disregard the fact that when we take no action, we are still taking action. We choose to do nothing. Yet isn’t that the language the people on your future leadership team want you to speak?
They want to hear you talk about the results and benefits, but they also expect you to voice the risks. What is going to happen if they don’t go in a particular direction? “Is there a real opportunity lost if we don’t spend X amount of budget dollars on this and use the money elsewhere?
“Your no-action actions are a very tangible thing to keep in mind when you are communicating in business, especially when your instinct is nudging you to move on. No action is action when you choose to stay silent and is as tangible as speaking up. “
Own Your Authority
In the changing landscape of leadership, one truth remains constant – uncertainty is inevitable. Great leaders understand that it isn’t about having all the answers but about navigating the unknown as well which takes guts with grace.
Your Gutsy Homework Assignment this week
At any point in your career where you feel fear or anxiety, a strategy I invite you to embrace is asking yourself: “How can this be an opportunity for growth? What am I meant to learn from, here? ” Then sit and reflect on what shows up for you. Note, we don’t receive the answer we need when we’re in the thick of it. We are at different vibrational frequencies. We have to walk away and disconnect to allow it some breathing room and then reassess what we would have done differently.
Gutsy Success Principles #1 – Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life and Your Results!
To your gutsy moves and career success!
Big squeeze coming your way!
p.s. If you haven’t yet checked it out, CLICK HERE to receive our newsletter. I hold Q&A calls, share career guidance and business strategies that will move the needle in your career. We just held our 12-week visioning party, it was a lot of fun. We put ourselves into the future that we want – 12-weeks to be exact.
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