As leaders in these uncertain times, it can be comforting when someone on your team says, “Tell me what to do.” After all, we’re used to being in charge and having a sense of control. But in her “Best Next Move Tip of the Week” video, Bobbie LaPorte explains how to benefit from capacity building in your team, and why, sometimes, asking questions is better than providing answers.
Your Best Next Move: “Capacity Building in Your Team”
Hi everyone, it’s Bobbie LaPorte here again from Lake Tahoe with this week’s Coronavirus Curveball tip of the week.
So, many of you have heard me talk about the concept of capacity building which is actually a critical element of our VUCA Ready Leadership Framework.
So, what is capacity building?
Well, in a nutshell, it’s about understanding the strengths and assets of you and your team but also being very intentional about how you use them to face the challenges that you’re dealing with and not just automatically react and fix things based on what you’ve done in the past.
Here’s a scenario that might sound familiar now more than ever. Our teams are clamoring for direction and so weighed down by all the fear and anxiety from the uncertainty that continues to surround us. They are coming to us saying, “tell me what to do,” — and for many of us, this can be very reassuring because we’re used to having people rely on us for direction — so we feel a sense of normalcy in this response. But it can also be the surprisingly easy default, particularly when you’re stressed and overwhelmed and who isn’t stressed and overwhelmed these days?
It creates a false sense of control and unmet expectations for your team because they’ll continue to rely on you for answers, and we know that none of us have the answers anymore
and the bigger consequence of this is that by telling them what to do, you’re not asking them to use their skills and their experience and to leverage and amplify their strengths to build capacity in themselves.
So, here’s my tip for building capacity in your team
The next time your team members say, tell me what to do, pause, stop, and think, ask some relevant questions like:
Have you encountered the situation before?
What might be some possible options to consider to move forward?
Is there anybody else on the team who has a particular strength or talent or who has experience with this that can help you?
This will help them to see how they can apply their own strengths and those of their team members, add what they already do well to the situation, and develop additional options to consider now. This approach definitely takes more time and investment on your part, but it helps them see what is possible, and it builds capacity in them to handle future issues more effectively, so that’s my tip, give it a try.
I’ll see you again next Monday and, in the meantime, remember that leadership
makes the greatest difference when the world around us is uncertain. All right, have a great week. Take care.