I agree, listening and setting clear expectations, then getting out of the way, will get the best results and allow employees to take ownership of their work.

Welcome and thanks for the comment!

Regards,

Kelly

I specifically appreciate the point you made that leaders expect personal accountability. This empowers the employee to do their best or they don’t succeed.

Listening and setting clear expectations are two key attributes of a strong leader.

Thanks for the post.
Pat

I agree. “Why” from the employee’s point of view can be very helpful.

I read something a while back (can’t remember where…) that said a lot of change initiatives go well for 18 months, then stop dead. The momentum of just doing something carries the program for a while, and when the newness wears off—out with the CEO, because it didn’t keep going. I think “why” alone isn’t enough. People appreciate your reasons, thought out from their point of view, but it still all comes down to those internal motivators.

Unless, of course, you’re telling them that they’ll get growth and responsibility and achievement and advancement out of it… but that’s going to come off as condescending. They’ll tell you if they get internal motivation from their work.

A mix of the “why” and less hands-on leadership is probably the best combination.

Thanks for your thoughtful comment and the mention at your blog!

Regards,

Kelly

I enjoyed your post. And I agree that pushing change does usually fail.

In my work with clients, I emphasize why before how. People need to see why something needs to be done before they are ever interested in how to go about changing something. We often miss that step.

But why is tricky. It’s not “why its important from my point-of-view,” but why from the other person’s perspective.

I did an informal study a few years ago and found that companies that did a great job of addressing why, often didn’t face show-stopping resistance later on. And their success rate was higher.

Rick Maurer
http://www.beyondresistance.com
http://www.changemanagementnews.com (blog)

I hope it helps. If not, there are about 110 others here that may help in some way. Drip, drip, drip. Sometimes it takes a lot of aha! minutes to make up the big moment. The fact that you dropped him a link to this shows that you have a lot of respect for him. A lot of people wouldn’t even try.

Thanks for stopping in and commenting, Francis, I hope you’ll make MCE a regular read!

Regards,

Kelly

That’s a great story, and excellent words from your boss.

I’ll bet they miss you on that team more than you miss them, because even with the great advice your boss gave you, a lot of people just wouldn’t know how to be that leader.

Thanks for your comment!

Regards,

Kelly

All this is in the past tense because I now work in a different team where I don’t have people reporting to me. Honestly, it’s a bit of a relief. Leading is hard. But I kinda miss it…