Hi. Welcome to the LeaderCoacha newsletter. Take 5 minutes to read how you can add even more value as a leader.

In today’s edition:

• How Jeff Bezos makes fast decisions

• Trust first to build trust

• Speak last for creative solutions

• Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella

• Delegate with 3 simple questions

RATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

How Jeff Bezos makes fast decisions

Leaders need to make many decisions in their week Decisiveness is a great attribute.

Amazon has a reputation for being one of the world’s most decisive companies. It’s founder, Jeff Bezos, emphasizes fast decisions because these lead to more experiments, innovation, and successful products. However, not all decisions can be made fast. This framework is how Bezos identifies which decisions should be made fast or not fast:

Fast: two-way door decisions

These decisions are reversible so they can be made fast. Bezos believes these decisions should still be made by individuals or small groups with excellent judgment. He thinks a common problem with many organizations is that they treat two-way door decisions like they are one-way door decisions. This makes an organization slow and demoralizing.

Not fast: one-way door decisions

If we get irreversible decisions wrong, we can suffer significant costs in effort, money, and stress. One-way decisions require more time and more discussions.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Trust first to build trust

Some leaders believe people need to first earn their trust before they will extend trust. This is a mistake. When we trust first, the other person likely experiences a release of the social bonding chemical oxytocin. Oxytocin predisposes them to trust and reciprocate positive behaviour. A virtuous circle is launched. The leader lowers their risk of trusting first by a measured bet of trust. It can be increasing your colleague’s role on a small project. Or sharing with them a small client. Overall, trusting first is a long-term, winning strategy.

SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE

Speak last for creative solutions

Leaders have a significant impact in team meetings when they voice their opinions. Less assertive colleagues may agree, or stay silent, once the leader’s position is known. If you seek to include all participants, and generate a variety of opinions, speak last. Encourage the quieter participants to speak first. And defend them from being interrupted if needed. By speaking last, you increase the probability the team generates creative solutions. You also have the opportunity to hear a solution that’s better than yours that you can promptly acknowledge. This humility fosters trust and encourages team members to keep sharing their ideas.

REVIEW

Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella

Steve Ballmer, then CEO of Microsoft, said of his successor Satya Nadella, ‘having worked with him for more than 20 years, I know that Satya is the right leader at the right time for Microsoft.’ Ballmer’s faith has been rewarded by the increase in Microsoft’s share price:

Nadella has driven Microsoft’s highly-profitable Intelligent Cloud business and market-leading AI strategy. His influence and success has had some call him a Re-Founder of Microsoft.

In 2017, Nadella’s book Hit Refresh was published. It embraces Nadella’s personal story and is a guide for leaders competing in a fast-changing world. Here’s a summary for leaders:

6 Lessons for Leaders:

1. Empathy is a superpower. True leaders listen, seek to understand others, and display compassion. This applies to leading a team or when making significant business decisions.

2. Don’t be intimidated by competitors. All of them have weaknesses that may be exploited. Focus on your organization’s strengths and competitive advantages.

3. Foster partnerships. In an age of disruption, leaders should seek collaboration, even with competitors, to deliver the best outcomes for customers and employees.

4. Unlock team potential. Amplify each team member’s strengths. Build team cohesiveness and performance by facilitating trust and collaboration.

5. Adapt to disruption. Don’t be wedded to past successes. Pivot to new growth areas. Leaders need to embrace change, focus on customer needs, and continuously innovate.

6. Automation creates opportunities. Leaders should ensure that automation empowers people by upskilling teams and creating jobs that lead to growth.

COACHING COUCH

Delegate with 3 simple questions

Leaders who delegate tasks and responsibilities to team members:

• Enable the team to create more value faster

• Facilitate an engaging and motivating team culture

• Liberate themselves to pursue other high value work

Despite most leaders knowing that delegation is important, it may seem difficult to do.

My coachee, Alex, had been promoted to Head of Equities Sales for an investment bank. She was initially reluctant to delegate any of her clients. Alex wanted to retain these in addition to now managing seven people and participating in an executive committee. Alex feared transferring her clients for two reasons: the first was that she didn’t trust her colleagues to manage them as well as her. She believed, ‘if you want a job done well, do it yourself.’ The second reason was she feared failing as a manager and wanted the safety net of returning to pure sales. Both of these reasons are common obstacles to delegation.

Despite Alex’ fears, and with some nudging by her manager, Alex committed to delegation. She implemented an approach that works across industries and job types. It involves asking team members 3 simple questions each quarter:

1. What tasks am I doing that you want to commence now?

2. What tasks am I doing that you want to commence in 3 months?

3. What tasks am I doing that I should stop because nobody should do them?

Alex encouraged her team to consider her account management as part of her tasks. Her team were enthusiastic to have responsibility for more clients (and a higher potential bonus). Alex transferred 60% of her clients in the next 6 months. This caused her anxiety for a few weeks. But there were no client complaints nor a revenue drop from transferred clients. Alex had more time to work on the business and to mentor team members. And her team later gave her positive scores in her annual 360 feedback. These combined to give Alex greater confidence that she would succeed long-term as a manager.

Delegation takes courage. It unlocks the long-term potential of leaders and their teams.