Today, during practice with a not so young leader, I observed a mustang revert back to his old mule ways. He dug in his heels, expressed impatience all across his face, and kept interrupting my instruction with a simple but effective stopper – “but.” He kept “butting” in, so to speak. He is paying me to listen, understand, and instruct. He is paying me to give him a lawyers argument on why my instruction is the highway. He is paying me to make him better but he has a hard time hearing his way needs some work. Funny, huh.
Remember, leader, when you ask your team for feedback your job is super simple. Tune in like an animal being stalked. Mine for more. Tell the brain to expect and anticipate some news not of it’s liking. Tell yourself to fight the urge to “but,” and triple d (defend, deny, destroy) the messenger. Instead, develop the discipline of asking for more. Make “tell me more,” your feedback discipline. You see, my client wants to move from mule to mustang. There is no if and or but about it. He wants to change.
He just has a hard time not butting in…
BUILT TO LEAD 