How do you avoid being the source of all answers?
This week I spoke to a head of delivery in a professional services company that I’ve been working with for a while now. He said “I am demanding 1-3-1 now for any problem my team leaders bring to me, and I’m coaching them to demand the same from their teams, too.”
I always celebrate when a technical leader reinvents themselves from builder of a thing to builder of a team – the machine that builds a thing. Mainly because many leaders never make such a shift as the company grows – and they become a bottleneck and get outgrown. Not this guy!
The key moment in that transition is when the focus shifts from providing answers and “getting things done” to developing people, encouraging them to do better in providing their own answers. Obviously, this quantum leap is not limited to technical leaders, yet it does seem to be most profound there.
The first huge step, already discussed in another card, is asking “What do YOU recommend” in lieu of an answer.
Dan Martell in “Buy back your time” goes a step further with the 1-3-1 principle. Its power lies in its simplicity. When presented with a problem, ask for the following:
1 – one problem at a time
3 – three possible solutions that the asker thought about
1 – a recommendation on which one to choose and why
Is it more work for them? Yes. Does it perhaps take more time in the moment than just telling them what to do? Absolutely.
So why would you do it? To build THEM up, obviously. Chances are they will come up with the right solution on their own during the process, and all you will need to do is to say “great, go ahead!” You will also learn how they think, identify areas where you can help with further coaching, and get the freedom to put your energy into places of the highest leverage.
As a Leader, what do you do to turn your A-Players into talent builders?
