The first sign of a great leader is a recognition of gaps in their own capability and capacity that only others can fill.

The second sign of a great leader is that they are willing to let go of control and pass the baton of challenge on to other members of the team.

The study of the brain shows that people come alive when given control and a challenge to solve.

The greatest challenge for a talented leader is not to give answers [feeding others for a day], but to develop others by challenging them to find answers [feeding them for a lifetime].

In this way a great leader expands their own potential through others. They believe people are smart and can figure things out.

According to Liz Wiseman in her book Multipliers:

Know it alls – give directives that showcase how much they know.  As a result they limit what their organization can achieve to what they themselves know how to do.  The organization uses its energy to do what the boss thinks.

Challengers – define opportunities that challenge people to go beyond what they know how to do.  As a result they get an organization that understands the challenge and has the focus and energy to take it on.

The 3 practices of the Challenger:

1. Seed the opportunity
   1. Show the need
   2. Challenge the assumptions
   3. Reframe problems
   4. Create a starting point
2. Lay down a challenge
   1. Extend a concrete challenge
   2. Ask the hard questions
   3. Let others fill in the blanks
3. Generate belief in what is possible
   1. Helicopter down
   2. Lay out a path
   3. Co create a plan
   4. Orchestrate an early win

Becoming a Challenger:

• Ask leading questions
• Take a bus trip
• Take a massive baby step

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Micromanaging is a trust issue.

Some say it is a control issue, but doesn’t control also ultimately come down to trust—struggling to let go, fearing that others can’t do it (at least not well enough), and that others need your ongoing input in order to get it right.

Team members need to feel trusted and valued, and micromanaging communicates the opposite. Founders who are prone to manage every detail of their businesses will ultimately kill themselves as well as lose the support of team members. Learn to delegate key tasks and give credit.  (Martin Zwilling)

So, great leaders let go. They believe people are smart and can figure it out. They invest vision, trust, and resources in order to extend their greatness. And, in the process they also reap twice the results according to research by Liz Wiseman – see her book Multipliers.

For more insights into micromanaging click on the following image:

Herb Mast is a Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

There is nothing inherently wrong with making decisions. But how decisions are made can have a significant impact on an organization—either creating higher levels of engagement and execution or disengagement and dissatisfaction.

Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers, agrees that good leaders are made, not born. She states that “leadership skills can be taught and management practices can and should be refined and improved upon as leadership styles and behaviors evolve.”

In her book she introduces two types of leaders: Multipliers and Diminishers.

Diminishers drain intelligence and capability out of their teams. Because of their need to be the smartest, most capable person in the room, they often shut down the smarts of others, ultimately stifling the flow of ideas. They pride themselves for being decision makers, not realizing that in the process they are stifling and underutilizing people and leaving creativity and talent on the table.

Multipliers on the other hand, as capable as they are, care less about flaunting their own IQs and more about fostering a culture of intelligence in their organizations. They recognize that people are smart and bring value to the team and that one of the best ways to access that value is to create debate within a safe environment. As a result, under their leadership, employees don’t just feel smarter, they become smarter, and better decisions are ultimately made for the benefit of the team and the organization.

In her February 1, 2017 Skillsoft Blog, entitled Creating Debate to Improve Decision Making, Liz challenges leaders, to “think of some important organizational decisions were made recently within your company. Were there any problems that came up after the fact – in whispered conversations in hallways and cubicles – as baffled teams tried to make sense of decisions that seemed abrupt and random? Diminishers create this unproductive dynamic because they tend to make decisions alone or with input from just a small inner circle of advisers. The result is an organization left reeling, instead of executing.”

“By contrast, Multipliers engage people in rigorous, upfront debates about the issues at hand. They give people a chance to weigh in and consider different possibilities—ultimately strengthening team members’ understanding of the issue and increasing the likelihood that they’ll be ready to carry out whatever actions are required.”

“In our research, we found that Multipliers did three specific things very differently from Diminishers when it came to decision-making.”

“While Diminishers raise issues, dominate discussions, and force decisions, Multipliers:

1. Frame the Issue
   1. Define the question
   2. Form the team
   3. Assemble the data
   4. Frame the decision
2. Spark the debate
   1. Create safety for best-thinking
   2. Demand rigor
3. Drive a Sound Decision
   1. Re-clarify the decision-making process
   2. Make the decision
   3. Communicate the decision and rationale

Liz finishes her blog post with the following four steps for those that want to become debate makers:

1. Ask the hard questions,
2. Ask for evidence,
3. Ask everyone,
4. Ask people to switch positions.

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.

Similar to the debate over which came first, the chicken or the egg, is the debate over whether leaders are made or born.

Regardless of which side of the argument you find yourself on, I think we can all agree that virtually anyone can become a better leader if they want to and put in the necessary effort.

Here are a few ways in which Great Leaders practice intentionality (and are made):

• Humbling themselves and celebrating the strengths and contributions of others
• Getting themselves out of the way and making it all about the mission of the organization
• Caring for and developing others (they cannot accomplish the vision alone)
• Accepting the fact that they don’t have all the answers and will never stop learning
• Being clear on their values and never sacrificing them
• Welcoming trials and tribulations for how they make them stronger
• Embracing the role others play in their development
• Seeking accountability before it finds them

The following video shares a simple formula for making leadership more actionable:

Herb Mast is Leadership Coach and Employee Engagement Specialist. Learn how he can assist you in implementing the principles and concepts presented here.