146: Three Things to Stop Doing in Leadership, with Steve Richardson

Steve Richardson: Become a Better Leader in 30 Days*

“All leaders manage, but not all managers lead.” -Steve Richardson

Three things not to do when managing people

• Avoid managing by suggestion
  • Managers do this when they don’t want to be accountable
• What do people really want from leaders?
  • Direct
  • Decisive
• Avoid managing by hoping
  • These managers maintain a positive attitude, but don’t really know how things are going
  • Employees learn that managers like this want to hear only good news
• Avoid managing by redoing
  • Some managers take on the work of employees and will re-do it
  • This is trap for people who were the start performers in the previous role
  • We mentioned episode #117: The Seven Steps You Follow To Delegate Work

“Doing something well myself is different than doing something well through other people.” -Steve Richardson

Ask: How can I help you?

• The response “fine” does not necessarily mean fine
• Ask the next question to find out what’s really going on

Steve’s triangle of managing people: Fair, Friendly, and Firm

• One of these will typically take the lead in one situation
• What does this person most need right now?
• It takes tension to keep them in balance
• Let intuition govern what takes the lead in any given situation

What should you stop doing?

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