Imagine, if you will, that you share a vision with some people who are going to help you get there. You’ve already all determined that you’re in this together, and that you’re willing to do what it takes to get there.
But then, a couple weeks into the mission, you find your team frustrated, tangled, and off-track. You remember telling them what the goal was, but each time they go to take action, it doesn’t look like what you expected it to, and you let them know.
The goal was so clear: GET TO 9.
But now you’ve got people doing multiplication, when you know in your head that addition is the answer.
Four plus five. It’s so simple – why aren’t they getting it?! Didn’t they go to grade school?
They’re over here doing “three times three” nonsense, and you’ve got another team doing division (“forty-five divided by five”)??! Why would they go that route?
It’s FOUR PLUS FIVE, people. Don’t overcomplicate this.
And yet, there’s people bringing all sorts of equations to you, and none of them are the one that YOU came up with (“square root of 81?! Who comes up with this stuff?!” you wonder to yourself).
None of them are “right” (in your opinion), even though all of them are correct (they all got to 9).
So, who’s right? You or them?
Where was the miscommunication?
Why can’t people just do everything your way?!
Well, let me break it to ya’……your way isn’t always the best way ? It isn’t always everyone else’s way. And it certainly isn’t the only way.
⚫ What if you let people help you without needing to control every aspect of it?
⚫ What if you let people help you reach your goal (aka “get to 9”) without them needing to do it your way?
⚫ What if you gave room for people to bring their own ideas and approaches to the table?
⚫ What if you stayed focused on the “what” (goal) and not the “how” (method of achieving it)?
What if?
What if, in communicating your goal to the team, you simply let them do what they do best (which, for them, may be multiplication or division – even though yours is addition) and you got out of their way?
There’s a time and a place to put some guard rails up on what’s acceptable or not, but that’s so completely different from controlling and micromanaging every aspect.
You may want to communicate to your team that it’s totally okay to get creative and think outside the box, but that company ethics still need to be followed in the execution of goals.
But don’t stifle their creativity because it’s different from yours.
It may be just the thing to unlock something new within you and help you level up your own skills! Enjoy the ride on your way to 9!
