By Dave Kline
- INTENTION: Maintain team harmony
- REALITY: Small problems become big problems and resentment builds
- BETTER WAY: Raise questions within 24 hours using:
- "I noticed..."
- "I'm concerned because..."
- "How do you think this went..."
- INTENTION: Control messaging and timing
- REALITY: Breaks trust, creates anxiety and limits their impact
- BETTER WAY: Provide a video update every Friday with key updates
- INTENTION: Role-modeling dedication and support
- REALITY: Creates dependency and encourages burnout
- BETTER WAY: Set clear boundaries and empower independent decision-making
- INTENTION: Ensuring the team succeeds
- REALITY: Creating learned helplessness and bottleneck
- BETTER WAY: Respond with "What solutions are you considering?"
- INTENTION: Maintain flexibility, encourage creativity
- REALITY: Causes confusion and missed targets
- BETTER WAY: Document, confirm, and revisit expectations regularly
- INTENTION: Give people chances to improve
- REALITY: Sets the new standard for underperformance
- BETTER WAY: Define clear improvement timelines and stick to them
- INTENTION: Keep everyone on the same page
- REALITY: Drains productivity and energy
- BETTER WAY: Replace status meetings with async updates; meet only to decide, debate or deepen relationships
- INTENTION: Ensure quality and speed
- REALITY: Creates bottlenecks and kills motivation
- BETTER WAY: Agree on clear outcomes, then ask "How will you achieve this?"
- INTENTION: Show quick response and keep momentum
- REALITY: Addresses symptoms, not root causes
- BETTER WAY: Uncover the real problem by asking, "Why?" before taking action
- INTENTION: Maintain high standards
- REALITY: Decreases motivation and doesn't highlight success
- BETTER WAY: Create daily habits of specific recognition for both progress and outcomes
Key Takeaway: Your team doesn't experience your intentions. They experience the impact of your actions.
Teaching leaders the codified management playbook.