“It’s important to activate your brain before you drop anything into gear, kid.” – The Colonel
Have you ever tried to drive a manual transmission? This insight from The Colonel came, the first time, as he was teaching me to drive a stick shift. Later, he repeated it many times as I consulted him for insights on leading various teams throughout my corporate career.
Because of his size, Dad was very keen on thinking things through before acting. He believed that there are two primary ways you could fail your team as a leader: The first was to think about doing something but never do it, and the second was to do something without thinking it through first.
Thinking of doing something, or worse, talking about doing something that you never actually put into action, will cause your team to question your resolve and your ability to implement. It’s like shifting into neutral, dropping the clutch, and revving the engine. There is a lot of noise and no motion. When you come across as tentative to your team, they eventually become less motivated, less empowered to proceed on their own, and, therefore, less productive. Once you have communicated an intent to act upon something, do it. Pick the gear and go with it.
On the other hand, plowing forward in action without thoroughly thinking things through to the end, and understanding how the action will affect all parties, is perhaps a greater mistake. Unfortunately, it’s a mistake too many leaders make, believing it is important to be bold and purposeful. That is like shifting from first gear to fourth, bypassing second and third. That will kill the engine completely! You can be bold and purposeful without being rash.
As leaders, it’s our responsibility to comprehensively consider everything that affects our team, to look at things from every angle, and then move forward in action.
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.