The Know-it-All 🥸 vs. The Challenger 🫵🏻
A leader takes people where they want to go. A Great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be. -Rosalyn Carter
This week on Learning to Lead live we continued to explore the concepts within the book “Multipliers” by Liz Wiseman. What does it take to be a challenger and how can you become one for yourself and your team?
The Multiplier leader is the Challenger this week, and the Diminisher is the Know-it-all. We know the types, they are more interested in proving how smart they are versus challenging, lifting and inspiring those around them.
What does it mean to be a Challenger?
Cultivate a culture that engages teams to contribute their talent, capability and intelligence as active participants
Create an environment of safety that demonstrates that the leader and organization value their ideas, thinking & recommendations
Engage team members by challenging them to stretch beyond their limits using their talent, knowledge and experience
The practices of a Challenger:
Seed the Opportunity
Recognize that people grow through challenges
Don’t give the answers, instead, begin a process of discovery by giving just enough information to provoke thinking and to help people discover the opportunity for themselves
Ask questions that challenge fundamental assumptions and disrupt prevailing logic
Analyze problems and reframe them to show the opportunity presented by the challenge
Lay Down a Challenge
Provide a starting point but not a complete solution - this generates more questions and curiosity!
Questions are designed to encourage the team to fully define the opportunity while giving them confidence that they are building on a solid foundation
Create a compelling challenge that creates a huge stretch (a space between what they know and what they need to know as this draws people into the challenge)
Create a huge stretch in 3 ways:
Extend a clear and concrete challenge
Ask hard questions that need to be answered
Don’t answer the questions and let others fill in the blanks
Generate Belief
Help others understand the stretch they require to be successful
Take the challenge down to the ground level (reality) and show them a pathway and why it can be done
Create a meaningful proof point that a bold challenge can be completed successfully
Refrain from the temptation to tackle too many problems all at once. Instead, begin with small, early wins and use those to generate belief toward the greater stretch challenge
Be aware of the Diminisher traits so you can identify them and adjust when needed:
Give directions in a way that showcases their own superior knowledge
Tell people what they know, how to do their jobs and test their knowledge to see if they are doing it right
Considers themselves thought leaders and readily share their knowledge, yet do not invite contribution
Ask questions to make a point rather than to access greater insight or to generate collective learning
Unintentionally shut down the intelligence of others
How can you become a challenger?
See any challenge with intellectual curiosity
Learn from the people around you
Ponder possibilities and how can you can do things differently
Take the Extreme Questions Challenge:
Ask questions that focus on the right problems and the intelligence of the team
Ask questions and let others find the answers
Discover the knowledge and expertise of others
Create a stretch challenge:
Engage the team by giving them a “mission impossible”, a hard, concrete challenge that will stretch them & develop new capabilities
Get specific with a major challenge and make it an intriguing puzzle by detaining the constraints - such as how do we accomplish X by Y date with only Z resources?
Create a culture of belief allowing the team to realize they can contribute beyond what they thought they could
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.” - Amy Poehler
Here are a few challenges you can try in the week ahead:
Look around and observe see what’s going on within your team and other teams. How are other leaders diminishing or multipliers? Are they keeping metrics hidden? Are they giving their teams opportunities?
Find a small stretch for your team and see how they respond
Take Aways:
Even when leaders have a clear view of the future, there are advantages to simply seeding opportunities
Challengers have a full range of motion: they can see and articulate the big thinking and ask the big questions, but they can also connect that to the specific steps needed to create movement.
If you ask people to take on the impossible in the right way, it can actually create more safety than if you ask for something easier
“The number one difference between a Nobel Prize winner & others is not IQ or work ethic, but that they ask bigger questions.” -Peter Drucker
Listen to the Full Replay
The next Learning to Lead Live event will be on Saturday, July 23 @ 9:30 am PT. The topic will be shared on Wednesday (July 20) so be sure to subscribe for updates and reminders!
Resources
Multipliers by Liz Wiseman: The book we are digging into for the next few weeks, packed with so many amazing leadership lessons
The Multiplier Effect: The first session in our series
The Talent Magnet: The second discussion in our series
The Tyrant 🚫 vs The Liberator 🙌🏻: The third discussion in our series
Morning Brew Business Analytics Workshop - July 18, 2022: Join a free 60-minute workshop discussing data analytics and their importance with Stephen J. Dubner, co-author of "Freakonomics" and host of "Freakonomics Radio."
The Cru Virtual Summit - July 21, 2022: This is a free summit with The Cru, a powerful networking group. The summit focuses on bringing you connection, clarity, & growth.
INBOUND 2022 - September 6th - 9th, 2022: INBOUND is an annual event, powered by HubSpot, that unites thought leaders from over 161 countries across marketing, sales, customer success, and revenue operations.
Tech Up For Women Conference San Diego - October 6, 2022:
Tech Up for Women believes tech knowledge is critical for every career journey. Join them for a one-day event to advance yourself through fast-moving topics to embrace new ideas and innovation.
Newsletters I read daily to stay informed and get inspired: The Hustle, Morning Brew, Seth Godin’s Blog, Atlas Obscura, Oprah Daily
Networking & Job Openings
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