Blog 009 – OMG! You Mean I Have to Lead A Team!

BLOG 009 – OMG! YOU MEAN I HAVE TO LEAD A TEAM!

There are many times where we are in a position, chosen or placed, to get people moving into a certain direction.  Oh, the stress we can feel, the pressure we can feel.  It can get so intense that we begin to sweat, get light headed, actually forget to breathe, and completely get lost in our thoughts.  That’s not being in control, that’s definitely stress.

The funny thing is, it can happen regardless if we are working with 200 people or 2.  When this happens, it really gets in the way of enjoying our life, personal and professional.  It’s very difficult to get ahead when the need to motivate people, to get people to believe in us , and we just can’t do it.

We can get into the science of why this happens, why we get so stressed when we have to speak to people, but we won’t.  The truth is that you could be this way for many reasons.  You can use Google to research the why.  What we are here to tell you today, is that with a couple simple tricks, you can begin to feel more comfortable, and get more in control of the situation.  First, what you need to consider;

1. We Don’t Have All The Answers – Somehow, our education system taught us, and most of our environment enforced to us, that the person who is in a position of authority has ALL the answers.  So when we believe we are in that position of authority, we subconsciously think we need to have all the answers.  So, if you are very stressed, pat yourself on the back.  Why?  Because your subconscious is telling you that you don’t know all the answers and you can’t pretend you do.  This is an incredible asset to have.  People will believe you more when you show that you are genuine in your level of knowledge.
2. If You Are The Smartest Person In The Room, You Are In The Wrong Room – You can’t BS people you have to direct, so why try.  There may be some things you are very knowledgeable in, but I would also guess that there are many things that the others are very good at that you are not.  So know that you are looking at them as a valuable resource to help contribute.

So, now that you know that you don’t have all the answers, and you are not the smartest person in the room, that should remove a considerable amount of pressure.

Ok, so then what’s the simple tricks?

Not so fast, there are a couple more things we have to consider.

1. There is more to tell them than just “What” needs to by done – There was an assistant coach for the Calgary Flames hockey team  who talk about communication to his players.  He mentioned that he had to understand that the way he was communicated to by his coach, when he played in the NHL, was not the way of today.  Back then, he was told “what” you had to do, and you just did it.  Now, the players want to know “why”.  This is so true in today’s world.  Whether we want to like it or not, we have to accept that the reason for doing things, the “why”, is expected.  The benefit of them wanting to know the “why” is that, if they believe in the “why” they will give more energy to what needs to be done.
2. Where the “why” isn’t told, it’s then made up – The truth is, when people are told to do something, and they don’t know the why, they will make something up to justify what they are doing.  Sometimes their “why” can be mean, completely inaccurate, and demoralizing to a team.

So, now what are those simple tricks?

Well, if we;

1. Know we don’t have all the answers,
2. Are not the smartest person in the room,
3. Conclude that the people we need to direct need to know the “Why”, and
4. If they don’t get the “Why”, the may make it up and demoralize the team,

then lets have a little process to follow every time we have to direct a group of people.

1. Find out what the expectation is that the group has to meet – This will come from the person directing you to direct the group of people.
2. Find out “why” that expectation is being placed on the group – Sometimes you don’t get much.  It could be a simple statement that someone hire up said so.  But there are other times where you get some detail as to the “why”.  Here a little hidden secret, buried in they “why” usually is the makings of an issue that is trying to be solved.  If you are asked “why” you need to know, it simple.  If we want the group to give their best to meeting the expectation, nothing will motivate them more than “why”…. as long as the “why” is genuine and meaningful, otherwise it could be looked upon as BS.
3. You communicate to the group what the expectation is on them.  You then immediately follow that up with “and we have a lot of knowledge and logic among us to plan a process to get those expectations met.  Now I want to let you know that we all bring a different skill set and perspective to the table, so if we spend a couple minutes (or the amount of time you may have or think you are going to need) and brainstorm some processes, we can definitely walk out of this meeting feeling positive we can meet that expectation.

These three tricks will definitely bring your stress down and get you more in control.  In the Managing Made Simple system, we have a lot more tips and tricks in this process, but our goal today is to take smaller steps in getting you feeling more in control when you are asked to get people moving into a certain direction.

Congratulation to you for spending this time investing in you!

Till We Meet Again ….

Managing Made Simple