Are You Shutting People Down?

Let's start with two questions:

1.  Are you shutting people down inadvertently?

2.  How would you know?

In the research for her bestselling book, Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, Liz Wiseman identified the nine most common Accidental Diminisher tendencies. These behaviors are often associated with being a strong individual performer or even a strong leader, but when overused or misapplied, they can shut down a team’s intelligence and contributions.

In this blog, we're going to look at the first 5 of the 9 most common accidental diminishers (we'll look at the other 4 in a second post!). However, remember that once leaders are aware of their diminishing tendencies, if they keep behaving the same way, those behaviors will no longer be accidental. In order to be good leaders, we must examine ourselves and our tendencies and be aware of where those can lead (both good roads and bad). Sometimes, what we feel are strengths can actually become liabilities.

#1 Idea Fountain -- Are Your Leaders Conditioning People to Sit Back Instead of Sharing?

Sometimes, creative leaders ware bubbling over with ideas. "Maybe we should do this..." or "It could be awesome if we..." They likely share their ideas, hoping to spark others' creativity. However, that overflowing fountain can actually condition people to leave the creative thinking to "the ideas guy". This can cause people to chase after implementing the boss's idea, only to have the next one thrust upon them before they've absorbed the first one.

To help a leader shift from a fountain to a generator, have them try to ask questions of the team (before sharing their own). This will help people not just go along with what the boss suggests. Asks idea generating questions like "What's an opportunity we're missing out on?" and "How can we deliver greater value to our clients?" This is also a great place to have a suggestion box, so those who aren't always excited to talk in front of the whole group can also submit their ideas!

#2 Always On -- Filling the Silence

Many leaders bring in high energy and enthusiasm to work. This can be great, as emotions can be infectious. However, when leaders have a big personality or just do most of the talking, they can overwhelm others. Energizing people isn't about leaders filling the room with THEIR energy and words. It's about making space for others to share their own.

Leaders should try to talk less and listen more. Shift focus from broadcasting your own views to helping others articulate their perspectives and ideas. Challenge yourself to be okay with silence, as well as try asking questions instead of giving statements.

#3 The Rescuer -- Habitually Acting as a Safety Net

This is the most common accidental diminisher, as well as one of the most challenging to overcome. Some leaders really want to help and support their people, but, in doing so, leaders rob team members of opportunities to build problem solving skills. The only skill people learn from being rescued in dependency, which makes more work for the rescuer.

*Please note, sometimes direct reports ask for help because it feels safer for their boss to take over than for them to risk messing up. This is important to know the difference, if it's the Rescuer taking over or a team member needing more support.

A Rescuer may want to pace their desire to step in by asking questions instead. For example, saying "I want to help, but maybe you don't need me. What would be helpful?" Then, that allows the team member to ask for help if they need it, or keep moving forward if they're doing well. When someone comes to you with a question, asking "How do you think we should solve this?" can be a great way to help instead of just providing an answer.

#4 The Pacesetter -- Don't Show Them How It's Done

Are you training people to be spectators rather than active contributors and innovators? You want to speed ahead, setting a high standard for quality or pace of work, hoping team members will hop in. But, when the leader is out front, often others slow down. They figure it's the manager's job to lead and it's pointless to hustle since they can't match them anyway.

Foster a culture where everyone is expected to learn and find better ways of doing things. This will propel your team forward, as everyone is sharing information to raise the collective intelligence. If you are a Pacesetter, try to regularly ask your team questions like "What could we be doing better?" and "What have you learned?"

#5 Rapid Responder -- On Top of It or Walking Over Them?

Some leaders want to keep things moving fast, so they're quick to troubleshoot problems, make small decisions, and hit reply to show they're "on top of it". However, by doing this, these leaders rob their team members of the chance to show they are capable. This trains direct reports not to respond (why bother when the boss will?) and wonder why the boss doesn't trust them to respond. This also unwittingly funnels every question and request to the leader, which will cause them a bottleneck as well!

Start right away to change this! Make it clear to direct reports when they should respond first... and then let them do it! Proactively telling them what you want them to do is likely the only way. Emphasize that you're happy to give input if they ask for it, but you won't just jump in. Add a boost of confidence by reminding them "I trust you to make these decisions."

Tune into our next blog post, Are You Shutting People Down? Part 2, to learn about the last 4 diminishers and what to do if you exhibit any of them!

This post was inspired by the Franklin Covey eBook on Diminishers and Multipliers

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