Leaders We Can Fix This

Like every beginner, I have thought you could beat, pummel and thrash an idea into existence. Under such treatment, of course, any decent idea folds up its paws, turns on its back, fixes its eyes on eternity, and dies.

- Ray Bradbury

This is a key rule; create a contract with your subordinate that simply says: Your subordinates get the credit when things go well and you will take all the blame when things go wrong. The main reason subordinates will not take risks is that they are hung out to dry when things go wrong or someone else takes the credit when things go right.

To help your subordinates develop their leadership skills to the fullest potential you must delegate duties and assignments in greater degrees of complexity. Leaders are developed best through experiential projects or assignments rather than textbooks and manuals. As each new assignment is completed on time, but perhaps not perfectly, the level of difficulty must be increased. By adopting this tactic you are communicating the message clearly that your trainee is expected to perform at a high level of effectiveness and manage his or her time wisely. Your subordinate must take risks in order to satisfactorily meet your requirements.

The first step is to clearly outline what the assignment is and its corresponding time constraints, resources available, which by the way includes you, and what the expected outcome is to determine if the assignment is to be considered a success. Don't forget to allow time for questions. Provide a brief overview of why the assignment is important. Also include who, what and where the most likely areas of support and challenges will come from. Establish a schedule of meetings to monitor progress. These meetings should be brief, no longer than fifteen minutes. Now that you have set your subordinates up for success cut them loose and let them get to it.

There are two things that happen when subordinates take risks; one is good and the other is not. However, both results have a tremendous impact on the willingness of your leader in-training to take future risks. The first is the assignment goes well, it is completed satisfactorily and on time. You must make a public acknowledgement of the accomplishment and make sure that he or she gets the credit for a successful outcome.

The second result is that the assignment does not go well or is completed after the deadline. There may be a number of valid reasons why the outcome was not what was required. Conduct an after action review to learn what when wrong and how this result can be prevented in the future. This process will contribute to the learning experience.

You must be the person to stop this practice. Simply approach your subordinate and say "We can fix this," then begin to assist your subordinate in taking the necessary steps to correct the assignment and give practical guidance to prevent a recurrence. If you follow this process faithfully your subordinates will continue to take on more challenging assignments and risks.

This practice demonstrates that you mean what you say, you are a person of character, you are making allowances for their professional development experience and you are not going to deliberately let them fail. The result of this process is that you will have an extremely loyal and competent staff whose performances will far exceed those of their contemporaries. Your reputation will spread throughout the organization as a leader's leader who trains the future leaders of the organization.

Remember when you adopt the practice of "We can fix this" you turn success into a given when your subordinates are assigned a task.

If you are experiencing fear about deciding to be a leader, laugh your fears away by following this simple plan.