The Outthinker 2020 Virtual Summit was held in April by Outthinker Strategy Network, founded by Kaihan Krippendorff to raise funds to help NGOs supporting populations most impacted by COVID-19. Over 20 top business and innovation speakers presented their insights on facing this difficult time and I will be sharing some of the key learnings with you.
In her presentation, Liz Wiseman (https://thewisemangroup.com/) explored the role of leaders in these times of uncertainty. Unlike in the past, leaders now have to lead others to a place of uncertainty and this requires a very different kind of leadership. She goes on to identify two leadership styles that are common in today’s time.
‘Diminishers’ are leaders who are smart themselves but could not have others being smart around them. They often choose to play it safe when solving a crisis, refusing to acknowledge other opinions. Others were not allowed to solve a problem as the leader already had the solution in mind.
‘Multipliers’ on the other hand admit that they do not know the answer to the problem, encouraging the team to suggest creative solutions, or seek external insights to propel the team forward. ‘Multipliers’ encourage reflection, engage others in decision making, trust their team members and provides ample opportunities.
Through her research, Wiseman identified that ‘diminishing’ leaders only tap into 48% of their teams’ intelligence, skills, and know-how, whereas a ‘multiplier’ leader uses 100% of their people’s capabilities. She summarized three shifts for today’s leaders to navigate for answers in these uncertain times:
1. Admit that you don’t know INSTEAD of Looking Confident.
Wiseman’s research suggests that humans perform at their best when they are faced with uncertainty. This corroborates the linear correlation between job satisfaction and challenge faced in the workplace.
2. Give up 51% of the vote INSTEAD of Taking Ownership.
Remind the team that they are in charge, empowered to make decisions that they think is best.
3. Allow space for mistakes INSTEAD of Just Encouraging Innovation.
Differentiate parts of work where teams know that it is okay to make mistakes against where it is not okay to fail. When leaders establish these boundaries, innovation pops up more often.Leaders, I hope this assures you that the most courageous thing to do as a leader is to admit what you do not know and remind your teams that we are at our best when we solve problems we do not have the answers to. When you do not know, the team has to rely on one another, creating a healthier team environment. To find out if you are an accidental ‘Diminisher’, take the quiz here (https://thewisemangroup.com/quiz/).
