When the rules for success change

Chris had done a wonderful job of single-handedly shepherding the development of a new AI product after his boss, Erin, was called in to rescue a failing project in another department. He hadn’t expected such a high-profile assignment after only 18 months with the company, but Chris seized the opportunity to make the most of it. He delivered the product on time and under budget, often working long hours and weekends to complete it. Erin rewarded his success with a promotion that would have Chris managing two talented new hires. That’s when she discovered some aspects of his personality that Chris would need to manage.

“Chris is a high-energy guy who gets stuff done,” she told me. “But he can sometimes mow over people with his ideas and vision, at times making others feel their input isn’t welcomed.” As Erin continued to describe Chris, his professional and social behavior strongly suggested that Chris has a Builder passion archetype, which was later confirmed by assessment.

In the first year of his employment, Chris had successfully applied his passion to accomplish any project Erin tossed his way. He was a solid independent contributor who showed vision, drive and problem-solving skills. While he did collaborate with others, it was only occasional. But once he began managing people, there were hints of some vulnerabilities. Chris struggled with delegation, firmly controlling project assignments and fearing they would fail unless he micro-managed them. He rushed his team through discussions about his vision, often leaving them confused about where they were headed or how to contribute. He seemed irritated when they came to him with questions, frustrated that they didn’t “get it.” There was deep talent on his team that Chris wasn’t taking advantage of or developing, and they were becoming discouraged. 

Erin and I discussed how to address the situation best and identified three areas she needed to focus on with Chris during his first year as a leader:

Reset expectations

Since Erin hadn’t had a direct discussion with Chris to establish her expectations of him in his new role, it’s not surprising that he continued to do the same things that had yielded success for him in the past. What’s rewarded gets repeated, so Chris worked hard, solved problems and plowed through obstacles just as before. What he didn’t realize is that the rules for success had changed. His boss wasn’t asking for more of the same. Erin wanted Chris to become an enterprise-wide thinker who leads and develops others. His job wasn’t to do all the work himself; it was to empower others to contribute and grow, enriching the capabilities of the entire organization. Chris needed to apply his passion for building to creating a high-performing team, not just delivering a product.

Source his need to control

Chris was demonstrating a vice-like grip on the projects Erin assigned. He tightly controlled the aspects of the work he doled out to his team, often keeping them in the dark about the totality of projects and how they fit in with the larger strategic picture. He was using only a fraction of the team’s capabilities, and Erin struggled to understand why. 

A casual discussion at lunch one day shed light on the concerns Chris was harboring. He had an extreme fear of failure and didn’t want to disappoint Erin, so he over-indexed on control. Erin helped him understand that failure contributes to learning, and he must make space for that with himself and his team. While she wasn’t advocating for carelessness, she encouraged Chris to leave room for experimentation. “After all, we’re not cracking open skulls and doing brain surgery here. We’ve got some margin for imperfection and can recover from a setback,” she told him.

Create a process for delegation

His need to control and fear of failure suggested that Chris had little practice with delegation. Telling him to do so wasn’t enough; Chris needed a system to follow. So, he and Erin devised a delegation process that works. 

• First, no project assignments are made or work begun until Chris holds a strategy and visioning session with his team. These sessions outline the larger organization’s goals and how each project fits within them, define the stakeholders the team will need to collaborate with and invite input from everyone on the team with respect to the vision for accomplishing the project. 
• Then the team collectively defines key project outcomes, and individuals are encouraged to identify parts of the project they’d be excited to work on. 
• To assure things are on track, Chris conducts project update meetings every Monday with the individuals responsible for each part of the project. This is a far cry from micro-managing everyone on every daily decision. 
• To address unexpected problem areas (the places the team might fail) or debate controversial issues that have arisen, any member of the team can call for a “Hot Takes Meeting.” Like a scrum, it’s a 15-minute update call, but designed to alert other team members about any critical development that might impact project progress or success. Everyone attends. Everyone contributes.

Focusing on these three areas has significantly increased the performance and development of the team. As you consider elevating your top performer into a leadership role, remember: the skills that brought them this far may not be the same ones that will carry them forward to success. Equip them with the right tools, and you’ll unlock their full potential — and the future of the teams they lead.

Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.

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