The Surprising Truth in How to Be a Great Leader
In this Ted Talk, the speaker focuses on numerous leadership attributes that individuals should practice in order to be influential, and successful. She also focuses on numerous traits that leaders ought to try to suppress as to improve the opinions of their followers on their leadership. The main characteristic this speaker recommends for successful leadership is the ability to coach those one leads to achieve their goals. This is very different from what one’s perception of leading usually is.
The tactic of coaching-focused leadership works in contrast to the act of giving advice, or instructing in any way. When individuals offer advice when anyone comes to them explaining a problem, they are likely to deter the effective production of those they lead. The speaker explains the psychology behind the “yeah, but…” response that we are all too familiar with. Though it seems obvious that when people have problems, we can help them but offering what we think is the best solution to their problem, yet problem solving is more complicated than this. People are not great at getting across their true concerns when they attempt to express them. Individuals are often well aware of the solutions others offer them, and simply do not pursue them due to other emotional responses to them. Another common tactic that is far less useful than people think is “motivational micromanagement.” This is the art of making suggestions or asking questions that have a clear goal in mind of guiding individuals towards the questioners desired act. This generally does the opposite of its perceived goal. The key to successful leadership is truly leading individuals to their own success. Providing them with useful resources, telling them of examples of how others dealt with similar issues, and generally allowing people to fight their own battles will always lead to maximize production
In the context of my own leadership experiences, and just in daily life, this made a lot of sense to me. For starters, I certainly have negative responses to motivational micromanagement, as it generally leads me to even work against my own interests sometimes. It is incredibly useful for leaders to make an effort towards making those they lead feel like they are on the same theoretical team. Offering advice can provide a connotation that individuals are ignorant if they don’t follow the instructions you provide. By understanding the emotions, as well as the reasons causing people’s problems, and providing tools for them to deal with their problems themselves, leaders can be effective.