You don’t think of yourself as a fault-finder, but what if you track your thoughts and language for an hour?
What’s your attitude about others right now? Yourself?
Fault-finders build insecure teams.
You’re a fault-finder if:
- You make emotional decisions and look for confirming evidence.
- You’re afraid to speak your mind.
- You can’t let mistakes go.
- You haven’t changed your mind in recent memory. Fault-finders carry the burden of being right.
- People adapt to you. You don’t adapt to others.
- Others apologize to you but you can’t remember the last time you apologized.
- Worry and fear drive your behaviors. Worriers complain. The fearful find fault.
- You don’t seek feedback but you love giving feedback.
- You have position and rank. Power is permission to find fault.
- You have a loud inner critic.
Two ways to rise above fault-finding and energize your team:
Fault-finders tear down. Skillful leaders build up.
#1. Develop a secret team of encouragers.
- Choose two team members to join you on a secret mission to encourage people.
- Target one teammate a day to encourage.
- Discuss your target’s strengths.
- Craft language that strengthens and energizes your target.
- Execute today and evaluate tomorrow.
- Choose your next target for hit-and-run encouragement.
- Develop a secret society of encouragers in large organizations.
Tip: Make this informal. It’s a secret mission. Don’t all show up together.
#2. Choose flexibility.
Rigid leaders are fault-finders.
- Be rigid when it comes to ethics, excellence, and relationship building.
- Be flexible when it comes to methods. “How would you like to proceed?”
- Focus on the big picture. Where are you going? Make room for others to figure out how to get there.
Questions flexible leaders ask:
- How might I make this project go more smoothly for you?
- How am I making things more difficult?
- How might I adapt to your style?
If everything has to be your way, you’re a fault-finder.
How might leaders find-fault less and energize more?
