Compounding leadership II

Being a great operator can make you harder to promote. I’ve seen this repeatedly in my coaching.  You're the safe pair of hands.  You take ownership.  You solve the difficult problems.  When something really matters, you’re the person everyone turns to.

And therein lies the problem.

Last week I wrote about 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 - the transition from Operator, to Multiplier, to Compounding leader.

Defining the transition is the easy part. Making it is much harder.

Everything that made you successful as an operator tells you to keep operating.

Often, your organisation reinforces it.

Your manager gives you the hardest problems because they know you’ll solve them.
You get the great performance rating. The pay rise. More responsibility.  You become indispensable.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.

I see this particularly when working with people’s strengths.

People with strong 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 take psychological ownership. A“𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩” mentality. They deliver their commitments.

𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 love accomplishment. Ticking something off the list provides an almost dopamine-like hit before they move on to the next challenge.

Great strengths - often foundations of a successful operator.  But every strength needs to evolve as the role changes.

• Responsibility has to evolve from   "I own it"  to  "I’m accountable for it, but I don’t have to do it."
• And the Achiever has to learn to get that same satisfaction from somebody else’s achievement.

Because as a leader, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. And that requires trust.

But it’s worth reflecting on what happens when the stakes rise.

When something really important lands, who gets it?
When someone approaches a problem differently from the way you would, do you let them continue?

If you could do something faster or better yourself, do you step in?

And if their 80% is good enough, can you resist turning it into your 100%?

Trust doesn’t mean abdication.

Different people and different levels of risk require different levels of involvement.

But people need genuine ownership.

And sometimes they need to be given something they’re 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿.

Something that makes them uncomfortable.
Something they may not even believe they can do.

With the right support, that’s how people grow.

When you give people opportunities to do things they didn’t know they could do, you’re developing them.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.