The Unexpected Answer that Solved One Department’s Issues
It’s wasteful and frustrating to talk to the wrong people about the right things.
The solution:
I coach a leader who reported that the problems in one department disappeared after he replaced the supervisor.
I asked, “Did you change anything else?”
He replied, “No.”
The answer is ‘who’.
Finding the right person isn’t easy. But this is certain. Things get better quickly when the right person shows up.
What vs. who:
Leaders spend lots of time ‘whating’ and too little time ‘whoing’.
- What should we do to fix this issue? Vs. Who might solve this issue?
- What went wrong? Vs. Who might pull us forward?
- What is the problem? Vs. Who has the experience and skills to resolve this problem?
A great ‘who’ trumps a clear ‘what’.
You can’t ignore problems, but in my experience, leaders spend too much time thinking about what to do and too little thinking about who should do it.
You’re working way too hard if you solve the problem before assigning the person.
You know enough:
You already know enough about most of the problems you face to identify the right ‘who’.
‘Whats’ are obvious. Waste is up. Production is delayed. Relationships are strained.
You’ve spent hours thinking about what to do. But the answer is ‘who’.
The right ‘who’ has:
- A track record of learning and growth. Problems are solved by learners, not knowers.
- Energy. Experience is helpful. Energy is indispensable.
- Experience with the team, if possible. Solution-finding requires trust.
- Transparency. Secrecy prolongs issues and exacerbates problems.
- Candor. You can’t dance around an issue and expect to solve it at the same time.
Tip: Assign a new person to a problem or issue. If things don’t get better quickly, assign someone else. Look for improvement, not perfection.
How might leaders focus more on ‘who’ and less on ‘what’?
Dan,
Falls back on one of your earlier posts,what do we need to ” Stop doing” and ” Start doing”? Identity the ” what” and who has the authority to fix it.
If the “Doer” is eliminated or corrected the “who” has corrected the path.
Thanks Tim. Always a pleasure seeing you here. Have a great weekend!
Working in the federal government arena this gets to a be a real issue. To remove a supervisor who has a lot of time in grades is almost imposable. It takes a lot of work and time and you never know if what you get next is better. Its is far easier to give that person the tools they need to improve. The real problem is finding something to motivate them to change. I have learned no matter what I do I can not fix somebody or make them change. What I can do is motivate them to do it themselves. Have a plan that has clear with measureable desired behavior and results. The best way to start is if you can get that supervisor to think back to where they started to be a leader and relight that passion that got lost on the way.
Walt,
I agree fixing with the proper tools sure goes along way, just firing someone isn’t always the snswer. Many instances can be corrected with core alignments and perhaps a mentors vision/ experience added with the policy reviews with enhanced options if needed. I have seen many individuals corrected with proper tools and guidance.
You are so right “core alignment” is critical. First questions should be, does the leader in question share your (or employer) core principals or does he/she have their own. Do they even one and even worst, do their employees know what it is or should be. Thank you for the reminder of that simple step.
Walt,
Sometimes we overlook simple things glad to help. Everything we do is to help, we like to believe.
The problem is often that it takes a long time to get a new “who” never mind the right “who”. Where people are on three month notice periods, the new person can find things have got significantly worse by the time they are brought in. Internally, you can struggle to find somebody who will walk into solving somebody else’s mess. The internal politics can hang over the issue like a bad smell.
For me it all comes down to humility. Often times I can fall into the “if you want it done right do it yourself” mentality. That only leads to less buy in from my team, a non-delegation culture, and boosted pride (the bad kind) in my work.
Be humble enough to know that you are not the only one that has been gifted to do things well.