I’m sure you know how this phrase ends.

“Don’t bring me problems…”

You’ve heard it more times than you can remember and may even say it to your own team members.

“Don’t bring me problems. Bring me solutions.”

This is a great message for your people to hear.

But there’s a subtle danger that can bite you if you lean into it too hard.

That’s what several highly experienced, thoughtful leaders and I realized as we dug into this during our live working session on Friday.

If you’ve joined us on one of these calls, you know that we always start with a specific topic and use real-life scenarios we’re dealing with in our businesses to guide our conversations.

We always go deep as we explore the nuances that we often miss when we’re thinking through a challenge by ourselves.

That’s what happened again Friday.

We started with the topic What Should I Stop Doing for My Team?

My friend and former co-worker, Scott Dunaway, agreed to be in the spotlight to share his experience in this area.

Before I go on, I encourage you to click here and connect with Scott on LinkedIn so you can get to know him and start learning from each other. He’s an outstanding leader, Certified Working Genius Facilitator, US Marine, and a humble guy who wants to keep improving.

That was evident as Scott explained what he had learned about himself recently. Here’s how he put it.

“As I transitioned out of individual contributor and back into being a supervisor, I’ve been working on not falling into the trap of being a ‘rescuer.’ I am the leader in this scenario that needs to stop doing work so that my people can grow!”

Applying our shared belief that “the best leaders are the most self-aware leaders,” Scott recognized the rough edges of his Working Geniuses (Discernment and Tenacity) and used that knowledge to lead his team in a way that helped them to do more work on their own without being overly dependent on him.

We looked at his Working Genius profile and a team map and that’s what led us to start discussing the phrase “Don’t bring me problems. Bring me solutions.”

For some people you lead, the challenge of that phrase will bring out the best in them.

Once you say it to them, they’ll never again come to you with a problem unless they have multiple solutions ready for you to consider.

They’re going to show you that they’ve thought through it and aren’t just expecting you to solve every struggle for them.

You’ve trained them to know that when they bring you a problem, you’re going to ask them something like, “What do you think we should do about it?”

So they’ve got a long list of ideas that they naturally came up with and they’re ready to impress you by demonstrating their natural ability to innovate (likely because they have the Working Genius of Invention).

That’s the positive side of having a reputation as a leader who doesn’t want to hear a problem unless it’s presented with possible solutions.

But do you see the downside?

Here are some perspectives from the leaders on Friday’s call to help you see what too many leaders miss.

What if you have a person on your team who’s gifted at spotting problems long before anyone else but they’re not so good at coming up with ideas by themselves?

This might mean they have the Working Genius Pairing of Wonder and Discernment and one of their Working Frustrations might be Invention.

They’re amazing at working with another person to evaluate and analyze potential solutions but they’re downright awful when it comes to quickly generating ideas to address the important problems they discover.

And, on top of that, they’re a slow processor so they need time to evaluate and consider solutions before they’re comfortable recommending them. Some might even consider them to be “wishy-washy.”

How do you maximize their contribution to the team?

Is it by expecting them to do what they’re not naturally wired to do?

Like quickly providing a viable solution to every problem they see.

How does only putting the spotlight on the other team members who bring problems and solutions impact them?

Does it bring out all they have to offer and allow them to recognize that they too contribute to the overall performance of the team and the business?

We all know you can’t fix a problem until you are aware of it. It’s a two-step process.

But too often we only reward and recognize team members who are built to do the second stage, fixing.

We tend to undervalue the skill of recognizing problems before they’re blatantly obvious.

Might this pattern unintentionally cause our team members who add the most value during this first stage to feel like they’re not all that important to the team?

Worse yet, could you unknowingly be replaying an all-too-familiar soundtrack in their mind that reminds them of the words they’ve heard all their lives?

“You’re too critical.”

“You’re such a downer.”

“You never have any good ideas to share.”

“You’re just trying to shoot holes in all our good ideas.”

“Why can’t you be like your big sister and come up with a solution?”

With this history, they feel like the way their mind works isn’t a blessing. It’s a curse.

When they’ve got that message echoing in their head all day and feel the additional pressure to not come to you with an issue unless they can give you a resolution, there’s no way they’re going to contribute to their fullest potential.

Thankfully, our small group of leaders recognized this danger we could have missed as leaders working independently.

And we shared our insights and perspectives.

We talked about the negative results that come when our team members hesitate to tell us about a problem immediately.

Early awareness of issues is something every leader wants and needs.

You want to know if there’s a threat to your business as early as possible. Even if no one has any ideas on how to mitigate that risk yet.

We had a lot of folks from manufacturing on the call Friday so our minds naturally went to the shop floor.

We shared examples in which we would never expect team members to stay quiet about a problem until they could bring a solution.

Do you want your employee to tell you about a safety issue immediately?

Do you want them to let their coworker’s life remain in danger until they can present a viable solution?

Do you want the person on the production line to keep building hundreds of units that will have to be reworked because of the quality problem they notice but don’t know how to fix?

Of course you don’t.

You know that there are situations in which the advice to not bring you a problem unless you have a solution doesn’t make sense.

And there are times when it does.

You know that.

The key is having enough self-awareness as a leader to recognize the power of the words, and being thoughtful and intentional with what you say so you’re not misunderstood and cause unintended negative consequences.

When you understand how you can help every person on your team contribute the most, even those who are wired differently than you are, you can adjust how you show up and communicate.

This makes you a better leader for the people under your care.

Just like Scott is doing.

When your self-awareness and your awareness of others grow, so does your effectiveness as a leader. Your people will develop and your business will grow.

Those of us who were on the call Friday experienced this personal growth as we challenged and encouraged each other.

These discussions all start with one topic to get our thoughts flowing.

I’m making plans for our next live working session and I’d like your help if you’re willing.

Which of these topics would you find most valuable?

• Why Isn’t Delegation Working on My Team?
• How Do I know Who’s Ready for More Responsibility?
• How Do I Hold People Accountable Without Micromanaging?
• How Can I Use Working Genius to Make My Team More Effective?

Or if you have an idea that’s not on the list, I’d love to hear it too.

If there’s a problem you’ve identified and are working through, you’re welcome to share it with me by replying to this email. I read every one.

And don’t feel any pressure to bring me a solution along with your problem.

Problem solving involves two steps.

And the first is just as valuable as the second.

Helping you lead with kindness and confidence,

Greg

P.S. I still have a few spots open for the Leadership Clarity Accelerator program that starts October 8.

It’s for leaders who:

• Work as a part of a team
• Have a formal or informal leadership role (with or without direct reports)
• Want to stop doing work their team is ready to own so they can reclaim their time

Would this help you or someone you know?

If you think it might, grab some time on my calendar so we can talk more about it.

​https://gregharrod.com/schedule​

Here’s what Trayco Ross shared on LinkedIn about his experience in LCA.

If he hadn’t passed away a year ago today, I would have thought it was my dad who said these words to me recently.

“I have a high tolerance for pain and I will work through anything. And I can go for really long periods of time without getting burnt out. I feel it, but I don’t let it affect me. I don’t let it hold me back.”

But it wasn’t my dad I was talking with. It was a CEO and good friend of mine who hired me to do a Working Genius session with him and his COO, who followed with a similar comment.

“We have an entire team who’s like that, so he’s not alone. I’d raise my hand and say the same thing.”

These two guys weren’t boasting. They were simply explaining how they’d been trained.

Both C-suite leaders had previous careers in the military.

And, not surprisingly, they both shared the Working Genius of Tenacity.

People with the Genius of Tenacity are task-oriented and love to take things across the finish line. They don’t stop until all the boxes are checked and the job is done.

This is how both these leaders were wired and their training reinforced their natural tendencies.

My dad didn’t take the Working Genius assessment before he passed so I’ll never know his Working Genius pairing.

But, based on what I know of my dad and what everyone who talks about him says, he was one of, if not the, hardest working men they ever knew.

So, I naturally thought of him when I heard these two guys talk about their grit and determination.

I offered my perspective that what is true of those in the military is often true of business owners.

When you’re the only person in your business, you’ve got to do everything. You don’t bother asking who’s the right person for a specific task or how to “put the right people in the right seats on the bus.”

When you’re the only person on the bus, the question is irrelevant!

You do what needs to be done. And you do it with tenacity to survive. Much like those who serve our country must do when they have no other choice.

My dad wasn’t in the military, but he was the only employee in his business for quite a while.

And, without fail, he did whatever had to be done.

I admired and respected him for that, and my work ethic was shaped by his example.

But he taught me another lesson in his final days.

That’s what caused me to say this to my clients.

“That works until it doesn’t.”

I explained that the idea that leaders and their teams should see what needs to be done and just go do it is okay in the short term. But it’s not sustainable in the long term.

Because you can take this approach.

Until you can’t.

The words of a country song by that title were fuzzy in mind during this conversation, but the message of the lyrics was crystal clear.

We’re all finite.

The tasks we can do with ease in our youth will someday be challenging or even impossible with our aging bodies.

The clear mental processing that comes naturally for so much of our lives will at best be replaced by slower thinking. And, at worst, by confusion and disconnect from the reality of the world around us.

My dad was an outlier in many ways.

When doctors were asking about his mobility at age 81 using questions about being able to walk across the living room, I would explain to them that his struggles were not in the house.

They were in his business when he was still climbing out of his truck, onto the trailer, and into his backhoe.

He was tenacious and tough and just kept going.

Until he couldn’t.

The time came for him, like it will for all of us, when our minds and our bodies will not be capable of doing all we want to do.

Even those who are wired with Tenacity and have developed the mental and physical toughness to persevere through the most challenging circumstances have limits.

We all do.

Even my dad.

And that didn’t mean he was weak or that he was a quitter.

It meant he was human.

He was an incredible man, a wonderful dad, an outstanding husband, and one of the hardest working business owners I’ve ever known.

His days of being able to do whatever needed to be done came to an end last year.

I don’t know when, but mine will too.

And so will yours.

This week I won’t add any leadership insights or make suggestions on how you might consider applying what I’ve shared about my conversation with these two leaders and about my dad.

I won’t recommend that you consider how you’re investing your limited time, energy, and strength and make any corrections based on what you value.

I’ll leave that for you to decide.

You can do that on own.

Until you can’t.

Helping you lead with kindness and confidence,

Greg

P.S. I had the privilege of recording a podcast episode with my dad several years back. If you’re interested, you can listen to it here.

P.P.S. This Friday I’m hosting another live small-group working session focused on the topic, What Should I Stop Doing for My Team. We’ll use real situations from participants to think through the work leaders may need to stop doing so their people have room to take on more responsibility.If you’d like me to be in this invite-only event, just reply to this email and I’ll get you added.

Last week I wrote about how growing up in a blue-collar family shaped my view of “real work.”

I learned to associate work with tangible results.

When you fix or build something, you can point to what you accomplished.

That work ethic helped me build my career.

But it also made it easy for me to undervalue leadership work that doesn’t produce an immediate, visible result.

If you missed last week’s newsletter, you can read it here: Does Leadership Count as Real Work? – Greg Harrod

I promised there was another side to this issue.

And I had that in mind as I was talking with Danielle Putnam, CEO of The New Flat Rate.

A couple of weeks ago a few of the leaders in my Leadership Clarity Accelerator cohort and I were talking about how we grew up.

Their perspectives were fascinating to me and I think you’ll find what they had to say interesting too.

We discovered that the very thing that helped us build our successful careers could very well be holding us back as leaders.

I suspect you’re going to want to put some thought into this too.

Here’s how the conversation went.

It started with a statement that went something like this:

“I’m used to being a doer. But as I advance in my career, I realize I need to do less and lead more.”

Pause and think about that statement for a minute because there are a lot of different ways to look at it and I don’t want you to be overly influenced by our views.

Here are a few questions to prompt your thinking:

• Does that sound like something you would say?
• Have you built your business and your career by doing?
• Do you feel like your current position requires you to lead more than do?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you would have fit right in.

You know how to work hard because that’s how you were raised.

And your hard work got you to where you are today.

That was the case for every one of us in our small group.

All of us also grew up in blue-collar homes.

My folks owned a blacksmith and welding shop that they bought in 1970, the year I was born. My brother still runs our family business, which is now focused on oil field work.

It’s going to be 104 F degrees today and he’s going to be out in the heat working hard.

There’s no question he’s doing real work.

My mom grew up on a farm, so she was working every day and that’s still the case.

She’s a doer for sure.

Thankfully, my folks instilled a strong work ethic in me too.

The other leaders I was talking with had similar stories.

“My dad’s a general contractor.”

“Mom was a press operator.”

“Dad’s a carpenter.”

Every one of us saw our parents working hard when we were kids. They were always doing.

We’re proud of them and we want to be like them. We want to work hard too.

But here’s the rub.

The things we do as leaders don’t always seem like what we naturally think of as work.

The results of how we invest our time aren’t always easy to observe and measure.

That’s what emerged as our conversation grew from this early statement.

“I need to do less and lead more.”

This begs the uncomfortable question:

“Is leading not doing?”

Which quickly caused us start asking ourselves even more discouraging questions like, “Does this mean I’m not working when I’m leading people?”

While we knew intellectually that this wasn’t true, it somehow hit a nerve with every one of us.

And I suspect our shared blue-collar backgrounds had something to do with why questions like these began to surface.

Why do we sometimes feel lazy if we aren’t physically exerting ourselves in our job?

What’s behind our tendency to sometimes take the more difficult approach to solve a problem instead of the quick, easy path because it feels like we’re cheating somehow?

Maybe that sounds completely weird to you. I get that because honestly, it’s a little hard for me to admit that I feel that way because it doesn’t make logical sense.

Or maybe you feel that way at times too.

Do you feel guilty about your work if you’re enjoying it?

Does work have to be hard to be valuable?

I’ve been thinking a lot about questions like these since I had this conversation with my cohort and it’s caused me to think a lot about the term “real work.”

What do I believe “real work” is anyway?

Through a combination of my blue-collar background, Christian worldview, and all the reinforcement I’ve internalized over the decades, I tend to (incorrectly) believe that doing real work means performing tasks that produce an immediate, tangible result.

When you’re doing real work, you see real results.

And the more effort is required, the more valuable the work is.

I even get bonus points if it’s physically painful.

For example, if I sweat all day building fence for the sheep and can see what I’ve created when I’m done, I’ve done work.

If my hands have blisters and my back aches the next day, I’ve clearly done real work.

My need for a giant bottle of Advil is further proof.

When I’m behind the keyboard in a room that’s exactly the temperature I want, I sometimes question whether I’m doing any work at all. Let alone real work.

And, if I’ve enjoyed what I’ve done all day, I’m really tempted to think I’ve somehow cheated the system.

Have I done any work at all on days that have been fun for me?

The Six Types of Working Genius framework that I trust and use with my clients challenges how I would instinctually answer that question.

And that’s what was driving my LCA group to think more deeply as leaders.

The Working Genius model explains that every project requires all six types of tasks:

Wonder

Identifying the need for improvement or change.

Seeing opportunities, gaps, possibilities, and questions.

Asking, “What needs to change?”

Invention

Generating ideas and solutions.

Creating innovations, approaches, and strategies.

Asking, “What could we do?”

Discernment

Evaluating the viability of ideas.

Assessing and judging what will work best.

Asking, “Will it work?”

Galvanizing

Creating movement and action.

Motivating and inspiring people and building momentum.

Asking, “Who’s coming with us?”

Enablement

Providing support and assistance.

Knowing how to best help others move the work forward.

Asking, “How can I help?”

Tenacity

Driving completion and following through.

Ensuring all the boxes are checked and the work gets done.

Asking, “Did we finish?”

The data that supports this framework shows that each person has two of these types of work as their Working Geniuses.

When they’re doing these kinds of tasks, they’re energized and fulfilled.

They’re doing the work they’re wired to do and they enjoy it.

If that’s true (and it is), what does that say about how we as leaders should view “real work”?

I’ve spent my professional career in manufacturing and the drive to deliver tangible, measurable results has always been the focus.

That’s critically important for obvious reasons, but it comes with some risks.

Here’s an example.

Have you ever heard a business leader make some version of this statement:

“Thank you for your kind words about my leadership, but the folks out on the production line deserve the credit. They’re the ones doing the real work.”

I trust that the intention of the leader who says this is good, but she may cause some unintended consequences.

Do you see any potential problems with this kind of statement?

I’m wondering how this makes every employee in the company who’s not out on the production line feel.

Do they interpret this as a message that they aren’t doing real work or get the impression that they aren’t doing the work that this leader values the most?

Does this trigger them to go back to working at a more tactical level than they should so they can point to immediate, more easily observable results to justify their value to themselves and their leaders?

These are very real possibilities, especially if the leaders in the organization aren’t shop workers, but their parents were.

If you’re the first generation to work behind a keyboard instead of a press or a lathe, it can be easy to discount the value of the work you do.

And if your Working Genius pairing reveals that you’re wired to do your best work at the beginning of a project where results are less tangible, it’s even easier to feel like you have nothing to add to the business.

You may be telling yourself that all you do is ask questions (Wonder) and come up with ideas (Invention).

But you’re not very good at pushing work across the finish line (Tenacity).

In other words, other people do the real work that needs to be done. You don’t.

Or, you may feel like you “just” lead people who actually do the work.

You’re good at helping others be successful (Enablement) and are an outstanding sounding board (Discernment) in the background.

But you don’t actually DO anything.

If that hits home for you, I’d like to bring you a word of encouragement.

I strongly encourage you not to overlook the value you bring to a team.

Every job is a six-letter job.

W, I, D, G, E, and T are all needed for every endeavor.

And you’re built in such a way that you contribute the most to your business through two of those.

If your Working Genius pairing doesn’t look like what you’ve always considered to be real work, don’t let that discourage you.

And, if that describes someone on your team, take some time today to remind them that you need and appreciate them.

They need to know that what they do is important, especially if they’re not doing the blue-collar work they grew up around.

There’s also a flip side to this topic.

We’ll talk about that next week.

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

P.S. If you’d like to engage in open, honest conversations like this one with like-minded leaders in a relaxed, judgement-free setting, I invite you to consider joining my Leadership Clarity Accelerator small-group coaching cohort that starts on September 17. There are only 5 spots open, and the current cohort sold out. I’d be happy to get on a call and tell you more about it.

Last week I told you about how my experience raising sheep at Pemberley Farm is challenging my perspectives on leading people.

I shared these three photos.

And these leadership questions

• Can I identify and remove obstacles between my employees and the resources they need to be successful?
• Are some of my team members blocking others from getting what they need?
• Do I fully understand why my team members are doing what they’re doing?

If you missed last week’s article, you can read it here. One of the main takeaways was an encouragement to stay curious and open-minded. Talk with your people so you can learn all you can about them and from them.

I ended by explaining that we all have biases that shape how we think and act, and I told you that this would raise another question.

Here it is:

Are we letting appearance influence how we treat the people on our team?

As you consider this question, take a moment to look at another picture I took of the sheep at the water tank.

This is Martin, our Babydoll lamb, again.

I introduced you to him last week by pointing out that Georgiana and several of the other Valais Blacknose ewes were blocking his access to the big water tank, a critical resource he needed on this sweltering day.

And here’s another photo of Georgie.

Heads up. This week’s newsletter is going to be a little different than you’re used to.

I’m still going to share my thoughts on developing your people so your business can grow. But you’re also going to see a bunch of pictures of our sheep.

Because apparently, I can’t watch these creatures without thinking about leadership lessons I want to share with you.

I’ll start with the back story.

Last week I was standing in our pasture making sure our sheep had water because it was like 104 or 105F.

That was the real temperature. I don’t know what the “feels like” temperature was but I didn’t need a jacket. It was not chilly.

And when it’s that hot, one of the most valuable resources for a sheep is water.

So I ran down there in the middle of the day between meetings to top off their water tank.

Here’s what I saw.

That’s Jane and Charlotte in the back. Georgiana, the queen bee of the flock, is facing the camera. And Kitty’s lying down in the front.

It takes a while for the water that’s scalding hot because it’s been baking in the 300 feet of hose strung across the pasture between the hydrant and the tank to cool off.

So I had some time to think.

I started comparing the sheep scene in front of me to our work environments.

That water tank reminded me of various resources that are valuable to the people on our teams.

High-visibility projects, meaningful work assignments, career-building relationships, and opportunities to be in the spotlight came to mind.

The employees entrusted to our care need these things to thrive and flourish.

Similarly, this water tank was exactly what these four big, wooly Valais Blacknose ewes needed.

Based on this picture, you might assume that Kiersten and I had provided for our sheep and they were well cared for.

I’m confident you make every effort to do the same for your team members. You’ve likely given them the resources they need to be successful in their work.

A reasonable assumption is that all is well, right?

Our sheep are good. Your people are good.

All is well, right?

I can’t speak for you, but that wasn’t the case for our sheep.

These four ladies were just fine. But we didn’t have just four VBNs in this pasture.

We had eleven other sheep in there too.

Including Martin.

The little guy in the back.

For much of my career, I was rewarded for being good at work I wasn’t really built to do.

But it took me a long time to realize this.

I was an engineer and a project manager. And I was good at details.

I could take a complicated project, organize it, keep track of everything that needed to happen, and drive it all the way to completion.

So people kept giving me more opportunities to do exactly that.

It made perfect sense.

If Greg is good at getting complicated projects across the finish line, give the next complicated project to Greg.

There’s just one problem.

Being good at something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the work you should keep doing.

I didn’t fully understand this until much later in my career.

The work that energized me most wasn’t managing all those details. It was leading teams, coaching people, and helping them develop.

I’ve realized since then how easy it is for leaders to make the same mistake with our best people.

We find the person we can count on.

When a customer has a problem, we give it to Susan because Susan will take care of it.

When a project gets into trouble, we call Carlos because Carlos will get it back on track.

When something absolutely has to get done by Friday, we know exactly who to ask.

And because they’re good at it, we keep giving them more.

Eventually, we’ve built their job around what they’ve proven they can do.

But have we ever stopped to ask if that’s what they want?

That’s one reason I encourage leaders to create an Individual Development Plan with each person on their team.

It starts with questions about the person’s career interests, goals, and aspirations. Then we look at the strengths they can leverage, where they need to develop, and the experiences that will help them get there.

Notice I said experiences.

Development doesn’t have to mean sending them to a class.

Sometimes the best development opportunity is simply giving someone a chance to do something they haven’t done before.

I talked about an example of this recently with Michael Morrison on his Small Business Pivots podcast.

Years ago, I worked with a young engineer who started with us as an intern.

I didn’t hand him a major leadership responsibility and hope for the best.

I gave him opportunities to present his work.

Then opportunities to take on more responsibility.

Eventually, I put him in charge of a group of interns. He could assign their work and lead them, while I retained responsibility for things like their performance reviews.

It gave him a chance to lead without putting him, the interns, or the business at unnecessary risk.

And it gave me a chance to see what he could do.

Over time, those opportunities got bigger. And so did his impact on our business.

He became one of the top leaders in our business unit.

That’s what developing people can look like.

Not simply giving your reliable people more.

Giving them opportunities that help them grow.

So think about the person on your team you trust the most.

What work do you automatically send their way because you know they’ll handle it?

Then ask yourself a different question:

Is that work helping them become who they want to become?

If you don’t know the answer, that might be a great conversation to have this week.

Michael and I talked about this and quite a bit more during our conversation on Small Business Pivots.

You can listen to ​my conversation with Michael Morrison on Apple Podcasts​ or on whatever platform you prefer.

Or you can ​watch us on YouTube

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

P.S. If you want to get better at developing the people on your team, I’d love to share what I’ve learned. I’ve dedicated time on my calendar to help leaders just like you through a complimentary coaching call. Grab a time using this scheduling link and let’s talk.

I’m a big fan of process and structure. They’ve helped me lead some incredibly complex projects over the years.

But one project taught me that even a good process can create a blind spot if we’re not careful.

Here’s the story behind one of the many leadership scars I’ve collected over the years.

I was leading the development of an entirely new family of HVAC products. The program touched engineering, manufacturing, procurement, product management, quality, and nearly every other discipline in the business.

Needless to say, it was a highly complex effort involving many interrelated projects and a lot of people.

To make sure every department had a voice, we created a simple roster for each project team.

One column listed the function.

The next listed the person representing that function.

For example:

Product Management: Tom G.

Design Engineering: Rob E.

Procurement: Craig S.

You get the idea.

Compared to previous projects, this was a significant improvement. Instead of wondering whether the right departments were represented, we had a clear process that ensured they were.

Our meetings were productive. We debated product features, cost targets, manufacturability, schedules, and countless design decisions. Those conversations were often lively because each department brought a different perspective to the discussion.

I believed we were making solid decisions because we had the right people in the room.

Or so I thought.

One row in the spreadsheet simply said:

Manufacturing

Next to it was the name of one of the most experienced manufacturing engineers in the company. I’ll call him Tony.

Tony wasn’t just an outstanding engineer.

He was also a great teammate.

He listened well, contributed thoughtfully, and wasn’t afraid to speak up when he disagreed. I trusted his judgment completely.

So when we reached the formal design review, I fully expected the manufacturing organization to sign off without hesitation.

Instead, the operations leader at the plant started asking thoughtful questions about how the product would actually be assembled.

He pointed out ergonomic concerns for the people who would spend eight to twelve hours each day building these units.

Then he asked me a question I’ll never forget.

“Who from manufacturing was involved in making these design decisions?”

I answered confidently.

“Tony.”

He smiled and said something that immediately exposed the flaw in my thinking.

“Tony’s a manufacturing engineer. He’s exactly the right person for tooling decisions.

But he isn’t the right person to represent operations.”

That sentence stopped me cold.

Until that moment, I thought I had invited manufacturing into the conversation.

I hadn’t.

I’d invited one perspective from manufacturing.

The immediate fix was obvious.

Our roster no longer needed one row labeled Manufacturing.

It needed two.

Manufacturing Engineering

Operations

Thankfully, we caught the problem early enough that the cross-functional team was able to improve the product before it reached production. We addressed the assembly and ergonomic concerns before they became expensive problems.

It was a near miss.

Looking back, though, I learned something even more valuable than how to improve my spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet wasn’t actually the problem.

My thinking was.

The roster had become a shortcut.

Once I saw “Manufacturing” checked off, I stopped asking whether I truly had the right perspective represented in the room.

I assumed the process had already answered that question for me.

That’s a dangerous assumption for any leader.

Over the years, I’ve wondered how often we confuse roles with people.

We invite Sales.

We invite Finance.

We invite HR.

We invite Operations.

But organizational charts don’t attend meetings.

People do.

Two people with the same title can bring very different experiences, strengths, relationships, and ways of thinking.

Checking the right box on the roster doesn’t necessarily mean you have the right perspective in the room.

That’s one reason I encourage leaders to think intentionally about every important meeting.

Ask yourself:

• Why are we meeting?
• Which perspectives need to be represented?
• Which specific people will contribute the thinking this conversation requires?

Those questions have helped me avoid repeating the mistake I made years ago.

Maybe they’ll help you too.

Perhaps you’ve implemented systems and processes that have dramatically improved how your business operates. That’s something to celebrate.

But every process has blind spots if we stop thinking critically about the people inside it.

Good processes reduce chaos.

Great leaders never let those processes replace discernment.

I hope my story encourages you to look at your own meetings, your own systems, and your own decision-making with fresh eyes.

Another way to gain clarity as a leader is through my Leadership Clarity Scorecard. It’s a free assessment designed to help you recognize where you and your team are strong and identify areas that may deserve more attention.

If you haven’t taken it yet, click here to learn more.

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

I should have known better.

It only took a couple of minutes of crying over my favorite clamps, which were now pitted with rust and corrosion, to realize what I’d done.

I’d put them in an environment that was going to destroy them. Not on purpose of course. But that’s what I did.

This got me thinking about how we can do the same thing to the people in our businesses if we’re not paying attention.

I’ll tell you why my previously awesome clamps look the way they do in a minute, but I’ll start with the leadership lesson I’m drawing from this goof I made.

I’m doing my best to make lemonade out of lemons here, folks. I really liked these clamps.

Here’s the question I asked myself:

How many times have I inadvertently put a team member in a situation that would hurt them?

I don’t mean I asked them to do something physically unsafe like remove a guard from a machine on the production line.

I’m thinking about giving them a work assignment that ate away at their energy level and their mental wellbeing over time. They were fine at first. Just like my clamps.

Then one sign that they weren’t doing well appeared, as did the first pit on the slider of my clamp. But I wasn’t checking in on them, so I didn’t see it.

Then another indicator that all was not well emerged and I missed it too.

Over time, they began to deteriorate, even though they were doing their job just as well as when they had started. Again, just like my clamps.

But they weren’t in the same condition as when they started the work and they certainly weren’t ready to begin a new assignment at the level of performance they were capable of.

They had been damaged because of the environment they were in.

I’ve seen this happen too many times. Sometimes I’ve been to blame, and sometimes other leaders are at fault.

It’s almost never malicious. But that doesn’t change the reality of the negative impact on the people.

Damaging environments can be the result of many different things.

A toxic culture that disregards the human aspect of work.

A project with unreasonable and unattainable expectations.

An employee whose unacceptable behavior should have been addressed years ago.

Leaders don’t mean to put their people into situations that will harm them, but it still happens.

So what can we do to avoid being that unaware leader?

Here’s what I should have done with my clamps and I think these tips apply to the people we lead too.

• Know how each person is designed.

I should have thought more about how the clamp was designed and the impact of using it as I did. For our team members, are they built to do the work we’re asking them to do in the environment we’re putting them in?

• Pay close attention to the environment.

I couldn’t see what was there, but, looking back, I should have known. For our team members, what factors are obvious and what’s going on below the surface? Some dynamics take more time to understand.

• Check in before there’s a problem.

I should have checked the condition of my clamps more often. They were doing the job I had assigned them to do. Out of sight. Out of mind. I had no idea their condition was steadily declining and they’d never be the same. Check in with your people regularly. Great performance isn’t necessarily a sign of a healthy employee.

Those are my leadership lessons I took away from my tragic clamp experience.

I expect many more come to mind for you. I’d love to hear them if you’re willing to share. Just hit reply and let me know what’s on your mind.

If you’re interested in the details of what caused the demise of my beloved clamps, I think the picture below will help you understand what happened.

A few months back, when it was 200 degrees below zero during lambing season, Kiersten and I were driving to the barn about every 90 minutes (not exaggerating). These two newbie shepherds didn’t want to lose any of our sheep mamas or our lambs and we were nervous. And that’s a huge understatement.

So, I went to T-mobile and bought a home (barn) internet device that connects to the cell tower that’s spitting distance from the barn.

We already had two Wi-Fi cameras that we used to watch the doggos steal food off the kitchen counter while we were gone.

I connected them up with no issues. Then I rummaged around the scrap wood pile, mounted the cameras on some pieces of old siding, and clamped them to the barn rafters.

With my favorite Dewalt clamps…

Because they were right there and they got the job done.

Did I think about what was directly below the clamps and what those sheep were whizzing into the straw and filling the air with a gazillion times every day and night?

No. No I did not.

But I did the other night when I was on the ladder moving the cameras.

Sheep pee and woodworking tools are not a good combination.

Neither are good people and the wrong environment.

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg

As Sid and I wrapped up our discussion, it was clear that he now saw the pattern that had been holding his teams back for years.

He was a guy with all kinds of ideas and a “bias for action.” And when he was an individual contributor, that served him well. Most of the time anyway.

He would have an idea about how to solve a problem and he would go do it. Immediately.

He didn’t waste time getting input from others or analyzing multiple options. His ideas were usually pretty good, and he built a reputation as a guy who would “run through walls” to get his projects done.

But as he moved his way up the org chart, he became a manager. First, he had just a few direct reports. They were good at listening to his ideas, and they did their best to turn what he had in his mind into reality.

Sid didn’t mind watching over their work and correcting them as they went along. He made sure they did it exactly like he wanted them to. He loved getting down in the weeds with his small team and guiding them through all the details as they implemented his ideas.

When I asked him whether his team members liked having him that involved, he looked at me like he’d never considered that question.

At that point in his career, that wasn’t really a concern to him. All that really mattered was that his idea was implemented just like he envisioned it.

He taught his team that they needed to take action. When he gave them an idea, he wanted it implemented. Right. Now.

He communicated his expectations clearly so everyone knew them.

They knew something else too. Frustration was building within his team.

Everyone saw it. Except Sid.

As he moved up the ladder, the number of people in his organization grew. And so did their frustration.

Because now when he shared one of his ideas, it came from the big boss. The guy who was one, two, or three levels up.

When he was with people in the cafeteria talking about how he would handle a problem, his idea was no longer one of many options to consider. It was now THE solution.

That’s not what Sid intended, but that’s what happened.

And, because that idea came from the man who expected immediate action, the people on his team who heard his ideas knew they had better get busy.

So, his ideas were implemented quickly.

Sort of.

It’s more accurate to say that people’s interpretations of what he mentioned in passing were implemented.

What was actually done rarely matched what Sid had in his mind.

How did those who took immediate action after listening to him discover this disconnect in communication?

He told them.

Sid would explain why their work wasn’t what he wanted and how he would have done it differently.

As you can imagine, he was frustrated and annoyed. But not nearly as much as the people who reported to him.

Unfortunately, scenarios like this happened regularly. Turnover was up and engagement was down.

I suspect that you’re reading this story and it’s obvious to you why things were so bad. You likely have a long list of the things Sid did wrong and how he could improve as a leader.

But let’s be fair. We’re on the outside looking in and it’s so much easier to see gaps in someone else’s behaviors than it is our own.

I know I’ve made leadership errors as bad as Sid’s and others that were even worse.

But his heart was in the right place, and he wanted to improve because he knew he had a problem. That’s why he hired me.

Through our work, he was able to see that his natural tendency to take action immediately was a big contributor to the dysfunction within his organization.

The behaviors that made him so successful were now holding him back.

This can happen to all of us if we’re not careful.

Great leadership isn’t about collecting more advice. It’s about knowing which advice fits. And, more importantly, which doesn’t.

And there’s a trap I see leaders like Sid fall into over and over again.

And, sadly, I constantly hear well-meaning authors and speakers saying things that are pushing leaders like him directly into that trap.

In fact, I heard it again yesterday on a podcast I was listening to as I was watering the sheep at the barn.

The host and the guest were talking about how important it is for leaders to act without hesitation. “Those who are successful are those with a bias for action,” they said.

That’s good advice for a lot of leaders. But not for everyone.

Some leaders, like me, tend to overanalyze decisions and take too long to get started. Personally, a reminder to just make a decision and do something is good for me to hear.

That isn’t the case for leaders like Sid.

He was taking plenty of action. Too much, in fact. And he was acting too quickly.

He improved as a leader when he slowed down. He became a better leader, and his team performed better.

When he began to ask others to critique an idea he shared before he told them to go do it, they avoided wasted time and effort.

Many times they would realize during the evaluation process that they shouldn’t go ahead with what at first seemed like a good idea. Previously, they wouldn’t have discovered this until they had invested precious time, money, and energy in something that was not good for the business.

And the overall morale of the people on Sid’s team improved as well.

You know how discouraging it is to have to go back and rethink decisions after you’re in the implementation phase of a project. You may have also experienced having a project completely stopped after you’ve invested your heart and soul in it. You know the kick-in-the-gut feeling that brings.

Once Sid began involving his team in the analysis of his ideas instead of pushing them to act immediately, things like this didn’t happen nearly as often. Their workflow wasn’t always perfect, but it improved a lot.

That’s Sid’s story, and I share it so you can be thoughtful and intentional about how you apply the advice that leaders should have a bias for action.

Do you need to stop overthinking, stop overanalyzing, and finally move on the idea you’ve been considering for your business? As the saying goes, is it time to get off the pot?

Or do you need to remember that taking quick action is something you already do naturally and you can be even better as a leader when you invite others who are wired differently than you are to help you pause and evaluate your ideas before acting?

The right answer depends on you.

Not what someone said on a podcast or wrote in a book.

Self-awareness matters more than popular advice.

I’m curious about your view on the bias for action advice and would love to hear what you think. Reply to this email and let me know. I read every one myself, and reply to as many as I can.

And, if you’d like to talk through things like I did with Sid, let me know. Here’s my scheduling link to have a free 45-minute coaching session to get us started.

Helping you lead with clarity and confidence,

Greg