WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:04.200 Welcome to Hacking Your Leadership. I'm Chris and I'm Lorenzo. And Lorenzo. 2 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:06.879 On this episode, I want to talk about a listener question that we received 3 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:11.199 on LinkedIn. This is a pretty interesting one. It's one that resonated with 4 00:00:11.320 --> 00:00:15.240 me in terms of the some of the things that I struggled with earlier in 5 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.519 my leadership career. A person wrote to us and said that one of the 6 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:24.000 things that they struggle with in terms of leading a team is that they find 7 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:32.079 themselves constantly choosing between jumping in and doing the work of their team or holding 8 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:35.880 them accountable to the work they're supposed to be doing and delegating it for them. 9 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:42.359 And the context of it is that they often find themselves struggling to quantify 10 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:47.479 what they do in terms of leading their team, and so they take these 11 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:51.280 these opportunities to jump in and do the work of their team because it makes 12 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:54.640 them feel good like they actually did something. Then they realize after the fact, 13 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:57.520 I shouldn't have done that. I need to hold my team accountable. 14 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:00.600 But they struggle with making that happen, especially in terms of the fact that 15 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:04.079 they're a new leader leading a new team. I like this a lot. 16 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:07.640 Again, it's something I struggle with and I think other leaders struggle with it 17 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:10.719 too. Yeah, it is definitely one of the things that I think everybody 18 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:11.799 has to struggle through it. It's not one of those things that you figure 19 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:15.280 out right away, because if you if you're too far one way or the 20 00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:19.200 other, meaning that you never jump in and help your team or you always 21 00:01:19.239 --> 00:01:23.920 jump in and help your team, that's when it becomes like a really stand 22 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.200 out, major type of an issue. Typically, it's that we all struggle 23 00:01:26.239 --> 00:01:30.200 with it because we realize that you kind of have to be somewhere in the 24 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:36.280 middle, and it's very kind of dialed into what is the thing, Like 25 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:42.120 there's a difference between hopping in to go do something that anybody else could do 26 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:46.120 because you want to not do something else, like you're avoiding some of the 27 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:47.959 other work, and so like logic, go do that, and then I'll 28 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:49.239 tell everybody like, oh, I'm gonna go do this, and then try 29 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:52.439 to sell it to yourself. Is like, see, I'm just I'm a 30 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.879 servant leader and I'm role modeling the behavior and this is what I do, 31 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.200 which like right, yeah, exactly, but you just don't want to do 32 00:01:59.239 --> 00:02:04.200 the other thing versus the times when your team actually needs your help and the 33 00:02:04.599 --> 00:02:07.120 best way to add value in that moment is to actually go and do the 34 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:12.520 thing with them. Like like those I think the things that you do have 35 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:15.000 to struggle through and figure out as a leader. And as you go through 36 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:20.719 it though, like this this listener, it can be very much like tearing 37 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:23.360 at you a little bit and feeling like was that the right call? Did 38 00:02:23.360 --> 00:02:24.759 I do the right thing? Am I going too much? And then a 39 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:28.240 lot of times as well, and I've experienced this is that you know, 40 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:31.439 young like younger in your leadership career, you're going to have other leaders and 41 00:02:31.479 --> 00:02:35.840 mentors that have figured this out. They've kind of been like nope, like 42 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:38.439 these are the times that you jump in. These are the times that you 43 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:40.599 kind of like step back and then you delegate and that type of stuff, 44 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:44.919 and they will be really clear to tell you how they feel about it, 45 00:02:44.960 --> 00:02:46.280 whether they thought you did it right or wrong. Like that's the other thing 46 00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:50.520 that you get. It's kind of like those that are just like, oh, 47 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:53.560 yeah, well you shouldn't have done that right, And then it's like, 48 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:54.719 well, what should what should I have done? Well, you should 49 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:59.199 have delegate, you should have but also like they weren't there. It's like 50 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:01.240 they you know, again they've learned through experience. But it's just one of 51 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:07.879 those unique things where I think that you you have to be open to jump 52 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:10.439 in. You don't want to be above the team or above the work, 53 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:15.479 but you also have to be conscious of the responsibilities that you have and being 54 00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:19.360 able to do the things that only you can do right right. So one 55 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:23.520 of the things that this listener says that the reason they struggle with this is 56 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:27.879 because they they look at themselves as having a high level of work ethic. 57 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:30.680 And part of the reason that they tend to do this is to kind of 58 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:34.520 jump in and do the work for their team is because, and this is 59 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:38.719 their words, they prefer to be seen by their own boss as doing you 60 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:42.560 know, extraordinary work, you know, being able to jump in and get 61 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:46.599 everything done. And when I read that, I thought, yep, I 62 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:52.199 can relate to that feeling. And then when when I've been in situations where 63 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:58.000 I've been a leader of leaders, I remember thinking, Wow, this person 64 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:00.439 is jumping in doing all this work, and and I didn't see them as 65 00:04:00.599 --> 00:04:04.319 being doing extraordinary worker, having high level of work act. I saw that 66 00:04:04.360 --> 00:04:09.360 person as being unable to delegate and unable to do the work that they were 67 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:13.439 supposed to be doing as a leader. And so it's a you might think 68 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:15.879 that this is the impression you're giving your boss, is that, oh, 69 00:04:15.920 --> 00:04:18.680 you want to be seen as like, oh, I'm a go get or 70 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.319 I can just jump in and get the work done. But in actuality, 71 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:27.600 if you do it in the wrong times or too often, you will you 72 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.279 won't be seen as you know that, oh you're the one that wants to 73 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:31.879 jump in and get everything done with your team, You'll be seen as the 74 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:34.399 one who doesn't know how to delegate to your team or hold them accountable to 75 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:38.560 getting their work done. So again, it's a case by case basis, 76 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.720 and it's easy to Monday morning quarterback it right. It's easy for a person 77 00:04:41.720 --> 00:04:44.480 to come in and say, oh, you should have delegated when you didn't, 78 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:46.720 or you shouldn't have delegated, you should have jumped in and they struggled 79 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:50.120 for a while when you could have gone in and done the work with them. 80 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:56.680 But but it's not about any individual instance of this happening. It's about 81 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:00.480 the collective instances because there's no way to get it right every single time. 82 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:06.399 Especially when you're learning, and how your team feels about you is largely less 83 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:10.879 about whether or not you jumped in and more about whether or not you help 84 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:15.040 them solve the problem. And solving that problem might be doing it for them 85 00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:19.040 in certain circumstances, or it might be giving them a tool they might need. 86 00:05:19.120 --> 00:05:23.519 It might be taking something off their plate so they can focus more heavily 87 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:26.319 on the thing that they need to get done. As a learning experience, 88 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:30.639 it can run the gamut of what your role as a leader is in that 89 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:34.439 moment. But again, just because you aren't standing shoulder to shoulder with the 90 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:39.120 team doing the exact work that they're doing, it doesn't mean that you're going 91 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:42.639 to be viewed as as a leader as not effective as a leader. In 92 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:46.680 fact, that oftentimes the most effective leadership you can do is when you decide, 93 00:05:46.680 --> 00:05:48.839 you know what, I'm not going to put this fire out with them. 94 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:53.120 I'm going to make sure that that the roads are clear so the fire 95 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:56.639 trucks can get in so they can put the fire out. That's where I'm 96 00:05:56.920 --> 00:05:59.800 That's where I'm best served as a leader as opposed to just jumping in doing 97 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:02.120 it. Yeah, like I said, it's I think when we have a 98 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:06.439 conversation like this, we all immediately jump to very specific examples, right, 99 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:10.879 and again, sometimes it's like self soothing. Sometimes it's like no, no, 100 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:13.000 no, no, no, I get it understanding, Like that one 101 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:15.399 time that I jumped in like they needed me, Chris, like they like 102 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:16.800 there was there was no other option there. I had to jump in there. 103 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:19.800 And you might be right, you might absolutely be right, like that 104 00:06:19.879 --> 00:06:24.000 might have been the right thing to do. I can tell you over time, 105 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.199 right, if that's the way in which you have to react, or 106 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.639 if that's the way in which you have to operate as a leader of people 107 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.040 or as a leader of leaders, what you're going to find out over time 108 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:38.600 is that that that that kind of exception of having to jump in and save 109 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:42.160 it now starts to become a little bit of the expectation yep. Now starts 110 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:44.839 to be a part of what you're supposed to do. And then as you 111 00:06:44.920 --> 00:06:47.639 attempt to maybe grow and be able to get better at leading through people or 112 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:50.839 leading through leaders, and you start to do less of that, that also 113 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:55.240 becomes extremely noticeable yep. And then people are feeling like, oh, Chris 114 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:57.480 over here, man, he used to come out in the registers and help 115 00:06:57.560 --> 00:06:59.319 us out. Chris, you just come out here and clean the floors, 116 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:01.519 Chris to the customers. Now, Chris is too busy. That's what ends 117 00:07:01.560 --> 00:07:04.639 up happening. And so I think that, you know, you've got to 118 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:11.079 be conscious of that. And if you're in that space where you're you're struggling 119 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:15.240 maybe in either figuring out when and how or you're just struggling internally around like 120 00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:18.240 how are they feeling about me? Am I doing the right thing? Is 121 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:21.040 this come across from right? Like the best way to work through that is 122 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:26.600 actually talk that through with your team. Oh, tell people, communicate it 123 00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:30.319 out there, say hey, you know earlier today, yesterday, last week, 124 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:32.360 you know, I saw that this is what happened. I had to 125 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:33.959 jump in and get in there, and like, let me tell you all 126 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.319 first and foremost, like I want you to know if it's absolute desperation and 127 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:41.720 you need me, like I'm willing to go do that work. I will 128 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:44.879 jump in, I will help out. I enjoy it. I don't mind 129 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:48.600 it at all. But also like when I'm doing that, that's taking away 130 00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:53.399 from me doing this. And like I liked your analogy about like if I'm 131 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:55.839 in here fighting the fires with you when I'm supposed to be in charge of 132 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:58.560 clearing the way for the fire truck. It feels good in the moment, 133 00:07:58.600 --> 00:08:01.560 it feels like I'm right there, but like the actual action that I should 134 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:05.279 be taking is not being done and it's going to cause this to be in 135 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:09.079 either a larger issue potentially because we can't get the resources that we need as 136 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:13.680 quick as we can. It's kind of like if you've ever been into a 137 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.720 grocery store or a retailer and you get in that line and you're just like, 138 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:24.240 how come there's one person at this register right There's nine registers and there's 139 00:08:24.279 --> 00:08:26.560 one person at a register right now? Like where is everybody else? And 140 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:30.759 if that leader think about this, if that manager says, I'm going to 141 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:33.799 hop on register too and say I can help who's next, but you don't 142 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.000 know that there's four people in the back that are working on something. And 143 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:39.240 because that leader didn't make a call back there, that leader just jumped in 144 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:43.080 and started to take the next customer instead of saying, hold on, I'll 145 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.799 be ready with you. Hey, everyone, I see the line, I've 146 00:08:45.799 --> 00:08:48.440 got some resources in the back. I'm the manager here, and then we 147 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:50.600 go get some more people will get you out here quick as possible. How 148 00:08:50.720 --> 00:08:52.960 you go back and you get them, and now you've got three or four 149 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.080 people at a register. As a customer waiting in line, I like that. 150 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:58.960 That feels good. I'm in line, which means I'm willing to wait. 151 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:03.320 I don't understand why there's just one. But now you've communicated with me, 152 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:05.360 You've done the work, You've done it that way. Like that's what 153 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:09.840 I mean by it's kind of like you have to be conscious of the role 154 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:13.080 in which you play, the responsibilities that you have, and you've got to 155 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.120 be able to make those calls. But I would tell you, tell the 156 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.240 team, Tell the team as you're learning, tell the team as these things 157 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:22.879 happening. Make sure you define what your role is, give the examples, 158 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.799 but let them know that like you will do it. If it was only 159 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:28.360 two people working that day, then there is no other option. Right then 160 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:31.600 you have to get on the register and do the thing. But like communicate 161 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.120 that with your team so that they could also learn over time on like when 162 00:09:35.240 --> 00:09:39.080 do they have to hit the emergency switch, When do they need you to 163 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:43.039 come out and actually be side by side. They can start to understand those 164 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.759 things, and it takes away some of that internal maybe debate or dialogue that 165 00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:48.879 you're having around making the right call. Yeah, I think where this can 166 00:09:48.960 --> 00:09:54.320 happen often, especially in retail, but in a lot of areas too, 167 00:09:54.799 --> 00:09:58.840 is whether or not the thing that has to be done is finite, is 168 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:03.000 in a moment in time or is this just how life is? So to 169 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:05.960 give an example, when I've struggled with this in the past in terms of 170 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:13.120 communicating to my team what was going on, it's when I know that there's 171 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:16.039 a line of customers or clients that has to get processed or talk to, 172 00:10:16.519 --> 00:10:20.600 and that line is never ending. It's never gonna end. It's always going 173 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:24.919 to be there because the nature of the business. And if a person is 174 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:28.600 being taught how to process this and I'm standing shoulder to shoulder with them and 175 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:31.720 I'm not processing it with them. I'm just teaching them how to do it, 176 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:35.639 and I'm giving them pointers and tips and showing them how to do it, 177 00:10:35.799 --> 00:10:39.919 the frustration from them could be Chris, why aren't you just doing this 178 00:10:39.960 --> 00:10:43.159 with me? Like what? Like, just we can get done twice as 179 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:46.000 many people if you're doing it and I'm doing it, And in my mind, 180 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.559 I'm thinking, well, we can't get them twice as many people if 181 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.679 we're both doing it because you don't know how to do it yet. You 182 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:54.200 need to learn how to do this, and once you are able to do 183 00:10:54.240 --> 00:10:58.360 it correctly and efficiently, you'll be far better at it than you are right 184 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.840 now because you're brand new at it. Might feel like in the moment that 185 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:03.919 you want me to jump in and start doing it right alongside you. But 186 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:11.240 and if this line of customers that we're processing has an end to it, 187 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:13.320 maybe that's the right thing to do, and then we get through it, 188 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.960 and then we start teaching and doing things at another time. But this line's 189 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:18.840 never going to go away. It's always going to be there because as people 190 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:22.679 move through, more people come in, it's always going to be there. 191 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:26.000 And so in circumstances like that, you have to kind of take a deep 192 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.240 breath and say, you know what, trust that this is the process. 193 00:11:28.519 --> 00:11:33.519 That it might take longer to get through this right now, but I'm arming 194 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:37.000 you with the tools that you need to be able to do this on your 195 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:39.159 own to where you don't need somebody side by side with you going forward. 196 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:43.840 And in times when I struggle with this it's been in the lack of communication 197 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:48.000 that that's what's going on, and that can lead to that other person feeling 198 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:52.799 like I'm not seeing the bigger picture here. It's like they think of it 199 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:56.360 like why why is Chris teaching me how to do this right now when he 200 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:58.320 should be just doing it himself. And it's like, no, no, 201 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.679 no, this is intentional. I'm intentionally teaching how to do this because I 202 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:05.919 want you to be armed with these tools as opposed to just always needing someone 203 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:09.879 to come in and bail you out whenever it gets busy. And again, 204 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:15.399 communication is key. Without that communication, they don't think there's a strategy to 205 00:12:15.480 --> 00:12:16.679 it. They think it's like maybe I don't want to jump in. I 206 00:12:16.679 --> 00:12:20.600 don't want to go in and do this work myself. I'd rather sit here 207 00:12:20.600 --> 00:12:22.559 and teach you as a leader. And it works the opposite way too. 208 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:26.320 If I'm jumping in and getting it done all my own, I could have 209 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:30.080 an employee who thinks, well, why is Chris always doing this for me? 210 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:33.320 I'm never going to learn how to do this if Chris is always jumping 211 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:35.240 in doing it for me. Again, people will tell their own story. 212 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:39.480 In the lack of communication. If you have a person who wants to jump 213 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:41.039 in and do things on their own and you're doing it for them, they'll 214 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:43.320 look at that as a negative. If you have a person who wants the 215 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:48.200 support and the help and for you jumping in and you're using it as a 216 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:50.679 teachable moment, they'll look at that as a negative. So it's the personality 217 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:56.600 of the person you're working with, combined with what their level of expertise or 218 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:00.200 comfort with the situation is all that goes into play, and the old only 219 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.720 way to clear the air and make sure they know that this isn't just kind 220 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.039 of happenstance, or this isn't like me trying to avoid something or do something 221 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:09.799 I want to do. There's a strategy to this and we're gonna get through 222 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:11.720 this together. That's the only way to make them understand that, Okay, 223 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:15.519 you know, let's let's work through this together, and then you know it'll 224 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:18.879 be the next time will be easier and easier after that. Absolutely, And 225 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:20.480 with that it brings us to this episode's one minute hack. But first, 226 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:24.799 if you work from our sponsors, all right, this episode, woman Hack 227 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:28.240 is all about communication before, during, and after any interaction where you might 228 00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:33.159 be doing the work of the people who are supposed to be doing that work, 229 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:35.759 So you've to you have to jump in as a leader to help get 230 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:41.399 something done, or choose not to. Communicating with your people in advance of 231 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:45.480 the situation so they know what's about to happen here, that there's a strategy 232 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:48.559 to it, and then during it kind of touching base and making sure that 233 00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:50.600 they're okay with how things are going. And then afterwards one a debrief. 234 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:52.720 So when when all is said and done, Hey, how did that go? 235 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:56.759 Do you feel like you learn something here? Could I've done something differently? 236 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:58.440 Did you need more support or less support? Did I do too much 237 00:13:58.440 --> 00:14:01.480 for you or not enough for you? All of these things when it comes 238 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:07.000 to communication, are really important because each of your people want something different from 239 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:09.840 you as a leader, and if you do the same thing for all of 240 00:14:09.879 --> 00:14:13.200 them, it's going to work really well for some of them and not well 241 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:18.000 for others. So find out what the gauge of the temperature of the room 242 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:20.519 is as well as what their bandwidth is to get done this task or this 243 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:26.320 project, and layer yourself in as needed, a little bit at a time, 244 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:30.879 with as little as possible, so that you are focusing more on leading 245 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.639 as much as possible, and then if you have to get in and do 246 00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:37.919 some of the dirty work with them, then you can, but it has 247 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:41.440 to be something that's done strategically and with their permission. Slash communication, not 248 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:45.159 just because you decide you want to. Yeah, I like this one minute 249 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:48.200 hack and you know communication, communication, communication, Like the ability in these 250 00:14:48.240 --> 00:14:54.960 spaces whereas a leader, you're internally assessing your decisions, but also like you're 251 00:14:56.000 --> 00:15:01.240 looking to be in a place where your team believes in your decision making quality. 252 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:05.200 They understand what you're doing and why you're doing it. They can appreciate 253 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:07.360 and respect, you know, the way in which you support them, but 254 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:11.440 also challenge them and teach them and motivate them. Like in these types of 255 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:16.480 spaces, your ability to effectively communicate what's going on, how you're feeling, 256 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.360 how they're feeling, what you want to do, what the expectations are, 257 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:26.200 how you work together to make sure that everybody is getting the best out of 258 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:31.639 it as possible, I think is absolutely critical. I remember days where you 259 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:35.519 knows, as an assistant manager in a big box retail store where we were 260 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:39.200 just running slim people had vacations. Leaders got out sick. There were meetings 261 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:43.159 that were happening, and you found yourself typically where you may have two or 262 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:48.519 three peers with you during the whole afternoon and night time to run a really 263 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:52.159 big, fifty sixty thousand square foot store where you were the only one there. 264 00:15:52.879 --> 00:15:58.320 And I actually enjoyed those moments a lot because I had to really intentionally 265 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.399 get around and talk to everybody in the building and every leader and say, 266 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:03.200 hey, I need your help and support here. Right, it's just me. 267 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.039 You know that, I know that I needed to make the calls. 268 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:10.200 I needed it to solve for the things that are going on. When you 269 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:11.840 need me or when you ask for me, you need to be really specific 270 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:15.000 on what you need so that I can address it as quickly as possible and 271 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:18.480 then me available for everyone else because it's just me, right, So like 272 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:22.240 like we need to run tight, we need to run clear, but I 273 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.519 trust you you got this. Let's go make it happen, and let's just 274 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:27.960 have a good time while we do it. But like that amount of communication 275 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:33.360 and then afterward as you go right and have communicating throughout the day in the 276 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:34.559 night time and then having a recap at the end of the day, like, 277 00:16:34.840 --> 00:16:38.559 these are all things that I think in my career that I learned, 278 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:45.519 but I enjoyed and it really allowed it allowed me to create spaces where I 279 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:49.519 could kind of I had to trust and delegate, but also was able to 280 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:55.360 really better assess and support leaders who were capable of more, and these kind 281 00:16:55.399 --> 00:16:57.279 of providing the opportunities to give them that opportunity to do more. Right. 282 00:16:57.440 --> 00:17:02.559 I think that's that's so well stated. I also think that there will always 283 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:07.920 be this kind of need to quantify your value add no matter who you are, 284 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:11.759 no matter what your role is, And as you move up in an 285 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:17.319 organization or move through your career, chances are as you take on more responsibility 286 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:21.000 as a leader, you will be doing less tactical work. You know, 287 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:23.839 when you start out as a line level employee, all of your work is 288 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:26.599 tactical, you know, And then you get promoted, you start leading a 289 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:32.039 team of people, and maybe maybe it's you know, seventy five or sixty 290 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.279 five percent of your work is strategic and around leadership, and there's still some 291 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:37.920 tactical work that has to be done too, because that's just the way life 292 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:41.839 works. As you move up further and further, it's less and less tactical 293 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:45.880 and more and more strategic. And there's a reason why it's not all at 294 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:48.559 once, and that's because it's really difficult for a person to go from being 295 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:52.119 able to quantify everything they do on paper to being able to say, you 296 00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:56.599 know what, I can't quantify it, but here's what I did. I 297 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:00.960 spoke to this many people today. You know, I had a conversation with 298 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:02.880 these people that, well, what would it do. I don't know. 299 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:04.720 It's yet to be seen, but we'll see how their performance is over time. 300 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:10.960 You can only quantify your value add as a leader, oftentimes looking backward 301 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:14.160 and looking at the performance of your team overall and how that has grown. 302 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:15.920 You need to be okay with that. If you are taking on the job 303 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:19.200 of a leader, you need to be okay with letting go of this idea 304 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:22.759 that you can you can show somebody on an Excel spreadsheet what you did for 305 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:26.720 the day, or you know how many widgets you made or products you sold 306 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:32.480 or things you moved. That that goes away when you take on the responsibility 307 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:36.119 of being a leader and instead you're talking about growing your team and helping them 308 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:40.640 accomplish their goals. If you are working for an organization that values leadership, 309 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:44.359 that is expected, and you need to be able to put on that bag 310 00:18:44.400 --> 00:18:45.519 of bricks and say, you know what, I'm okay with this. I 311 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:49.000 need to focus on my people and know that it will work out. Know 312 00:18:49.079 --> 00:18:52.079 that you don't necessarily have to do as much. Now, no matter what 313 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:56.799 level you're at, there will always be some tactical work. It might only 314 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.519 be one percent, but every once in a while it does have to happen, 315 00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:02.920 and I can't be beneath you. But again, the default needs to 316 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:06.920 be why was I hired to do this job? And if that role has 317 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:08.519 the word leader in the title, you know, if you are a leader 318 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:12.240 of people, the default needs to be what can I do in spirit of 319 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:17.319 that role as a leader, and not in spirit of like an individual contributor 320 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:21.480 or the person who's doing the job itself. Start from that standpoint and kind 321 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:25.240 of layered in as you can, as opposed to just thinking that the default 322 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:26.799 needs to be, oh my gosh, I haven't sold anything yet today. 323 00:19:26.839 --> 00:19:30.559 Well yeah, you're not supposed to write so, but again, communicate with 324 00:19:30.599 --> 00:19:33.400 your team, make sure they know why you're doing what you're doing. And 325 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:36.440 I don't think you can go wrong with that. I think you'll get a 326 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:38.680 lot of grace from your team even if you make the wrong decision sometimes absolutely 327 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:41.960 And with that it brings us to the end of this episode. This is 328 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:44.519 hacking your leadership. I'm Lorenzo and I'm Chris, and we'll talk to you 329 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:45.200 all next time.