7 Boring Things Successful Leaders Do That Failing Leaders Neglect
I asked the mechanic if they rotated the tires on my vehicle. Tire rotation is included in the price of an oil change.
His report was, “Your tires look great. The technician didn’t think they needed to be rotated.”
The reason my tires wear evenly is I have them rotated BEFORE they wear unevenly! For crying out loud!
Tire truth: Don’t wait for uneven wear to rotate the tires.
The seduction:
Problem-fixing is irresistible to incompetent leaders. Don’t get me wrong. Fixing stuff is essential to success. But real leadership includes boring work.
Fixing problems makes you feel important, competent, and powerful.
Rotating the tires – when nothing is wrong with them – is unglamorous and boring.
Boring work:
#1. Engage in regular one-on-ones.
If you don’t have time to support team members, when will you have time to solve the problems caused by neglect?
#2. Listen.
Listening is disappointing because talking feels powerful.
- Ask an open question. What … ? How … ?
- Smile.
- Relax.
- Ask a forward-facing follow-up question.
#3. Be curious about tire wear.
Ask about small issues before they keep you up at night. Uncorrected tire wear eventually becomes a blow out on the highway.
You may protest, “If I bring it up, things will get worse.”
Give space for others to rotate the tires. Don’t solve small issues. But let people know you see what’s happening.
Tell a manager, “I noticed tension on the team.” She may say, “It was nothing.”
You might reply, “I was just wondering. Will you let me know if it continues?”
#4. Describe what you see when you see it.
Feedback needs to happen on the heels of action. Next week’s one-on-one is too late.
#5. Honor character.
#6. Eat healthy and exercise.
#7. Turn off your computer at 7 p.m.
Do the boring work! The boring work is the deep work of leadership.
Which items on the above list are most relevant to you today? Why?
What are some unglamorous, but essential, aspects of successful leadership?
Added resources:
- Active listening, a free PDF from Berkley.
- 4 Ways Curiosity Makes you a Better Leader, on Forbes.
- Caught in the act!…Of Doing Something Right, Bob Burg
- Are you Curious, from USC Annenberg.
Great article…asking the right questions, the right way, at the right time, is a skill that all leaders need to develop.
Thanks Kevin. One tip is to ask more about where you are going than where you have been.
Quite honestly each one is relevant!
One on ones exist daily if you speak with the individuals just to see how things are going, letting them know you care.
“Listening” Is very relevant, as everyone deserves to be heard, some are just louder than others!
Maintenance is common, “don’t put off till tomorrow what we can do today”! Take the extra minutes to keep project moving.
#5. Honor character absolutely give accolades when deserved, share the praise!
#6. Eat healthy and exercise. sometimes easier said then done, always a work in progress.
#7. Turn off your computer at 7 p.m. I do at 3:30 on a working schedule, however these darn Androids seem to function later in the evening for all the wrong reasons, (To dedicated to our clients) emails at whatever time they hit the screen, till lights out!
Thanks Tim. Congrats on 3:30. I wonder about setting customer expectation re: the need for immediate response.
Re: one on ones…. you bring up the important ideas that performance conversations are part of daily experience.
Love the idea of showing you care!! Very encouraging to me.
Dan,
Yes that is were the Android takes over at 3:30 PM till lights out. 🙂
Highly relevant and timely for my situation at the moment. All 7 are right on, although turning off the computer at 7 may actually be the most challenging. 🙂 Thanks!
Thanks Bob. It’s a real challenge to close that laptop. I don’t want to miss anything and I feel important when hear a ding or see a notification. 😁
MBWA (Management by Wandering Around) daily
Thanks Scott. It takes personal confidence to wander around.
“If you don’t have time to support team members, when will you have time to solve the problems caused by neglect?” I think you missed it a little here Dan, that is exactly why they do not have time to support team members, they are solving problems from neglect. I think it goes hand in hand with “I don’t have time to delegate because I am too busy doing the jobs I should be delegating to my team so they can grow.”
Thanks Pat. I think we’re on the same track. It’s just that you said it better. “I don’t have time to delegate because I am too busy doing the jobs I should be delegating to my team…”
Yes!!! Feedback in the moment! As a coach, I would never wait until practice on Monday when I have feedback that will help us win, grow, or gain an advantage NOW!
Thanks Jared. You nailed it. If the feedback is worth giving, it’s worth giving now.
Dan – It is HORRIBLE out there. Behavior of Management. I popped up a short blog with a couple of statistics: https://performancemanagementcompanyblog.com/2019/02/27/contributing-improvement-ideas-the-boss-is-the-biggest-issue/
Thanks Dr. Scott. Great seeing you here.
You have listed several essential leadership behaviours: one-on-ones, listening, curiosity, feedback, etc, but they are hardly “boring” i.e. uninteresting, uninspiring or tedious. If leaders find the work you have listed as boring or, by implication, extracurricular, they better get out of the business. These behaviours are at the essence of helping people grow and develop, the principal job of leaders. I know you know that, but to use the word “boring” hardly makes the exhilarating job of leaders appealing.
Thanks Richard. I’m so glad you brought this up. The items on today’s list are secondary. What I mean is they help people deliver results, but they don’t directly deliver results.
I find the temptation of many leaders is to be hands-on in doing the work. Incompetent leaders find secondary work boring — helping others do the work.
Mature leaders enjoy helping others deliver results. Incompetent leaders are more concerned about their own results.
Again, I’m glad you brought this up. Hopefully, we will all get to a place where helping others reach their potential is what lights our fire.
I really resonated with the metaphor of tire wear. I believe Muhammad Ali had a similar quote about a pebble in the shoe taking down a marathon runner. It’s so important to ACTIVELY pursue “checking the tires” with our people.
Great reminders. Not only do I turn off the PC by 7pm, I don’t open it on the weekends unless there is something going on. I have a cell phone, people have my number – they can reach me “off hours” if necessary.
Great article! What boring things do I do be successful or have a successful work center? I believe boring work is maintenance that is needed for resiliency and stamina. The things that I do is engage and keep a healthy working relationship with peers and leaders, listening to and observing the work climate, honor character, and try to eat healthily and exercise. I believe that all of those techniques prevent issues and ensures an expedite repair of whatever may happen. All of these keeps high morale which spreads and helps with success and great attitudes. I believe the most unglamorous parts of leadership is having tough conversations and giving essential but harsh feedback especially when it doesn’t conform to the norm.
Great insights. I struggle with the computer off by 7 p.m., but do try to stop doing “work” stuff on it by then. Number four may have gotten me in some hot water recently, when I noted to co-workers and supervisors a potential problem that could cause great difficulty down the road if ignored. Number 6 is an area for improvement. I’ve relaxed on my diet since retiring as military reservist and this winter’s weather has put roadblocks in the way of my exercise plan to which I have not adapted well. Thanks!
Listening is key. I tend to want to talk until I am blue in the face which gets me absolutely nowhere. Eisenhower was a great listener and an amazing leader. If you are looking to develop your skills check out this site Tigrett Leadership Academy. http://www.tigrettleadershipacademy.com.
If engagement, listening, curiosity, intentional feedback, character, a healthy lifestyle and saying “no” to digital distraction are “boring,” I hate to think what sets us on fire ….
Perhaps unglamorous is better.
Love this blog and know I can get better at listening, but struggle to carry on a conversation with some of my team where we haven’t really developed anything beyond the formal work specific dialogue. Any suggestions tips to maintaining the conversation flow / moving beyond: question – answer? Sometimes I worry I’m being too intrusive as the senior manager in the team, so wait for conversations to open up – but that doesn’t happen always. Any tips welcome!
We desire our team members to work diligently even on the boring parts of their job, so as leaders we must demonstrate diligence to them in the boring part of our job. Tracking and approving expenses is an area I find boring but I know it is an area of importance and is a way for me to demonstrate to the team that we all have less than exciting parts of our job that have to be done. They remind me that they are grateful that I do it, so they don’t have to.