Most executives I have worked with are what I call multi-competent. They are good at many things. For the last few decades, they have honed their skills across multiple domains.
And if they happen to be the founders of their business, then they have probably done most of the jobs in the organization at one time or another…
..and that multi-competence is what keeps them from being effective now.
Leaders are not effective because they can do a lot of things. They are effective because they can do a few things with excellence.
In my experience, there is an almost physical pain for leaders that goes along with giving up control or involvement in things they know they are good at. They take pride in their skills honed over time, and they love to execute in every area. It feels good to get things done yourself (the dopamine hit to the brain associated with task-completion is an internal drug). This is the great seduction that effective leaders learn to ignore, because they have cultivated a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction in seeing work done by others.
Imagine yourself holding a light saber. Your job as a leader is to cut away everything from yourself that other people in your organization can do. In the end, what you are left with is a core set of responsibilities that only you can accomplish. I suggest you begin with cutting away these three things and replacing them with new keys to effectiveness.
Stop Solving Problems
The first thing effective leaders cut away is their drive to be the Chief Problem Solver. It is highly inefficient to have the CEO, or senior leader, of an organization in the weeds solving problems.
I know you’re good at it, but you need to stop. Replace the urge to solve problems with a focus on clarifying who is responsible for solving the problem and making sure they have the resources they need.
Stop Setting Goals
One thing that makes leaders successful is their ability to set ambitious goals and drive hard until they have achieved them. But the CEO can no longer be the Goal-Setter-in-Chief.
Goals that are handed down from the top feel like quotas and may risk you coming across as micro-managing. I know you are good at goals, but you need to move aside and let other people step up to set them. Replace the urge to set goals by giving careful thought to the top-level strategic objectives that align with your vision. These should be long term, high-level objectives. Then ask your people to do the work
Stop Helping
Because leaders are multi-competent, they are often drawn in to helping others accomplish tasks. Their offers of help are well-intentioned, but they have the effect of making employees feel like the leader does not have confidence or trust in them.
Effective leaders learn how to stop helping everyone all the time and make room for employees to fail, learn, and grow. Effective leaders will replace the desire to help with a commitment to thinking deeply and learning from mistakes.
From the practice of deep reflection, leaders emerge with the right questions to ask that focus everyone’s attention in the right places. That’s when real learning occurs, which is far more valuable than the short-term benefit of leaders helping someone get a job done
From Competence to Effectiveness
It takes courage and commitment to wield the light saber and slice away areas of your own competence, but the old saying is true, “What got you here, won’t get you there.”
Effective leaders learn to stop solving problems, and they start creating clarity and responsibility. They commit to stop setting goals, and they start casting vision and setting inspirational objectives. They discipline themselves to stop helping, and they start thinking and asking the right questions.
The DIY movement is seductive because it appeals to our individualism and sense of personal accomplishment. But doing it yourself as an executive is a recipe for creating bottlenecks and confusion.
What do you need to stop doing this week in order to become a more effective leader?
