The role of the modern CEO is not to have the right answers, but to ask the right questions and trust the team and the organisation to answer them.
Do you have all the answers for your people?
I Am prompted to muse on this by a blog from my friend Jeff Raker, copied in full below. Before that, though, a few musings of my own.
Are you the person your people come to for answers? If so, is it answers they seek, or is it your permission?
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, is famous for responding to a request for an answer to a problem with: “I don’t know, what do you think?“. When the member of the team gives an answer, he may often then say “Make it happen. You have full authority“. For more on Nadella, see this earlier post.
Jeff goes into this in different ways, but to me the crux of this is simple. If you expect of yourself that your role is to have all the answers, then what limits are you placing on them, their potential and the potential of your business?
Recently I talked to a CEO of a large company with big ambitions for the coming years and so many and new problems to solve. I mooted to them that the role of the modern CEO is not to have the right answers, but to ask the right questions and trust the team and the organisation to answer them for the business.
Over to you, Jeff:
It’s easier to give answers…..or is it?
There’s really no trick about it. It is easier to ask questions than it is to always give the answers, even if you know them.
I’ve had this discussion at least twice in the past week with two separate clients. Both have a reputation for solving people’s problems, answering their questions, giving people direction, and generally being right.
One client is a super-smart Sr. VP. The other is a very successful collegiate sports coach. They both have the same perspective.
People line up for meetings, coming with their issues and questions. They’ve both become “the answer man” to their people.
“Does your staff know they have permission to answer questions and then let you know about it?” I asked.
“Sure they…….” one began quickly and stopped, perhaps from the interesting look on my face that said – “Are you sure?”
“Maybe they don’t,” he said. Maybe indeed.
Both leaders have set up a system where some of their people haven’t been empowered to make decisions and others haven’t been empowered to think critically and strategically. These leaders do the thinking for their people.
It may seem easier to give answers, as if it saves time, but in the long run leaders who coach their people and help them discover the answers will gain enormous amounts of time in their day and week. What keeps you from asking questions? Do you ask the right questions? Are they actually questions or do you put the answer in the question? What will you do to learn new and better ways to lead?
Jeff Raker