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Think You Know?
May/June 2006 |
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Get Curious. Have you ever been in a situation where you knew what your employee was thinking, or you had no doubt that you and your colleague shared a similar view, so you acted on it? Only to find out that you were terribly, embarrassingly wrong? Leaders should know everything, right? Not exactly. But they can know much more than they think, simply by getting curious. At Issue Kate Ertmann, COO of Animation Dynamics Inc. (ADi) was pushing impossible deadlines. In crisis, she stood a at crossroads: She could overstress her already overburdened staff and risk poor quality and low morale, or she could stop and get curious. But the situation was concrete; get curious how? She consulted her Creative Director. "Did the client set this deadline or did we?" "We did." She called the client and asked when they needed the final. The answer? Two weeks beyond the deadline she had set for her staff. The Challenge - Don't back yourself into a corner by making up stories or internal narratives, and then living as if they are true! - Getting curious means paying attention to what's stopping you--a deadline, a pending decision--and being aware when you are making up something about someone or something. It means asking out loud for clarity. Kate: I was self-conscious about sounding "dumb," so Regina coached me on how to communicate my curiosity. Now I word my questions in a way that projects my control. The Payoff -You get authority and empowerment in your own sense of being a leader. - You begin to relate to yourself as more effective because you gather more information. You make informed choices and you are dealing with what's so. Kate: I have been told after projects that clients appreciate me clarifying. I am helping them be clearer, too. The Practice -Sticky notes! Write notes to yourself everywhere to get curious. -Let go of being right. You won't discover a thing if you think there's nothing more to know. -Be in conversation. Leadership doesn't happen in our minds, it happens in concert with others. -Try it out. Every day find three areas or instances when you suppose the truth without having all the information. Then go ASK. -Get feedback. Ask the people around you how you have been this week, compared to last. Kate: I am markedly less stressed from this one simple practice. And that affects everything else. I didn't realize how stressed I got until I started asking questions. Getting curious requires patience, courage and an open heart. If you do it, I promise you, you will increase your effectiveness as a leader in one week's time. Curious? Stay tuned for the Leadership Course happening this summer. In the spirit of Spring, Regina |
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