{"id":40777,"date":"2018-03-20T04:45:33","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T09:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=40777"},"modified":"2018-03-20T04:45:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T09:45:33","slug":"power-sharing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/power-sharing\/","title":{"rendered":"End Your Fear of Power Sharing"},"content":{"rendered":"

It started with my first day on the job. I\u2019d just been named senior leader at a growing organization with a generously-sized staff. Yet there were problems, as there are in any institution, and I was determined to solve them. All of them. Right away.<\/p>\n

Communications was a weak point, so I decided to personally review all public messaging\u2014from the website to the e-newsletter to property signage. I\u2019d been an editor for years, so who better cast our public voice?<\/p>\n

And the staff, though talented, seemed to lack unity and a common objective. So I instituted daily stand-up meetings, a weekly staff meeting, and one-on-ones in which I prescribed tasks and carefully monitored progress.<\/p>\n

And it was all good, for a while. Until I realized that I had only 168 hours in each week, many of which were needed for sleep. Attempting to supervise every aspect of the organization was running me ragged, not to mention frustrating the team<\/a>. About a month later when I took my first day off, a profound question occurred to me: \u201cAre you really the best person to do all these tasks?\u201d That led to an even more enlightening question: \u201cWhat could you be doing instead?\u201d<\/p>\n

Stifled by limiting beliefs<\/h3>\n

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Like many leaders, I\u2019d embraced two flawed notions identified by social science research: \u201cfaith in supervision\u201d and \u201cself-enhancement bias.\u201d According to the research, most of us tacitly assume that (a) things will be done poorly unless we keep a close eye on them, and (b) we can do it better ourselves.<\/p>\n

That mistaken thinking suffocates leaders beneath massive to-do lists<\/a> and burdens staff members with unnecessary oversight. Effective leaders avoid being hamstrung by their ego and multiply effectiveness by involving others. To do that, they must replace four limiting beliefs with four liberating truths.<\/p>\n

Limiting belief:<\/strong> Without my direct involvement, the outcome will suffer.
\nLiberating truth:<\/strong> Freeing others to act produces better results.<\/p>\n

My son served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. When he chose a civilian career in law enforcement, I assumed he would find a familiar culture. Not so. \u201cHere we have procedures for everything,\u201d he explained. \u201cIn the Marines, nobody cared how you accomplished the mission as long as it got done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over-supervision kills creative thinking. If your staff\u2019s only responsibility is to do exactly what you tell them to, they have no reason to think, take initiative, or overcome obstacles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

While some standardization is necessary in most organizations, wise leaders prescribe outcomes, not methods, thereby releasing others to find creative solutions.<\/p>\n

Limiting belief:<\/strong> I can do it better myself.
\nLiberating truth:<\/strong> Others will gladly supply the skills I lack.<\/p>\n

Self-enhancement bias, or the leader\u2019s belief that they are the most qualified person for any task, is nearly universal. It\u2019s also mistaken.<\/p>\n

Justin Kruger and David Dunning\u2019s landmark 1999 study revealed that less-skilled people generally believe they are highly competent, while highly skilled people often believe others are just as qualified as they are, or more so. The truth is, there\u2019s always someone smarter and more capable than we are. Wise leaders readily admit that.<\/p>\n\t\t