The Unhelpful Leader

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It’s Tuesday morning, and after two weeks of tireless work, Susan and John are making final preparations ahead of the biggest sales presentation of the year.

After they triple-check their data one last time and confirm their slides fit the screen, the boss enters the room and shares some advice.  

“Let’s make sure we’re strategic in our messaging,” he says. “We just have to do what we do and be confident. Let’s trust the process here.”

When he walks out, Susan and John simply roll their eyes.

Why?

Because while the boss’ intentions may be good, he’s simply throwing out vague cliches with unactionable ideas. He’s not improving the situation or demonstrating any actual leadership prowess.

These types of exchanges are incredibly common and may seem innocuous, but they can easily hurt our credibility with our team members.

When we as leaders speak, our words must mean something. They should ultimately do at least one of seven things:

1. Uplift- Make people feel better than they did before the interaction.
2. Motivate- Inspire a higher level of performance.
3. Inform- Provide previously-unknown details or information.
4. Direct- Specify practical next steps and actions to be taken.
5. Empathize- Convey that we understand their experiences.
6. Humanize- Exhibit relatable qualities to build trust.
7. Affirm- Demonstrate support and a general level of confidence.

There will be plenty of instances where we won’t have the exact answers or may not be able to offer meaningful feedback or suggestions. That’s just an inevitable reality of our positions.

But in these instances, the wise leader recognizes what he/she doesn’t know and is able to take a step back and delegate.

Refraining from commenting or asserting an opinion when we don’t fully know the landscape doesn’t make us weak, nor does it undermine our actual authority.

Ultimately, it’s a sign of emotional intelligence and humility — and will earn us far greater respect down the road.

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