
Hey, Leaders! Do You Know How To GAD?
For communication-based leaders, asking questions and listening are essential habits — but at some point most leaders have to tell people to get things done. There are three basic ways to do it, and choosing the right method can make the difference between leadership success and leadership failure.
Guide
First, you can guide.
“Here’s one way to do it, but if you have another idea, that’s cool.”
Offer guidance when time isn’t a constraint and you want your team to come up with the most innovative solutions to complex problems.
Advise
Second, you can advise.
“Give some serious thought to doing it this way.”
Provide advice when you know a good way to get something done but you can spare the time to let your team learn and grow by exploring creative alternatives.
Direct
Finally, you can direct.
“Do it this way, exactly this way, and only this way.”
Give directives when time is of the essence and/or a specific method is required.
In a sense, GAD is a sliding scale to help leaders find the right balance between time and creativity.
Offer guidance when time is of the essence, odds are your team will founder; and if you give directives as a habit, you’ll likely face mutiny.
But provide guidance, advice, and direction at the right times and you’ll get the most innovative results from your teams while rarely missing a deadline.
Author Cliff W. Gilmore, PhD, is CEO of North of Center, LLC, a coaching and consulting practice that helps people become the kind of leaders they’d want to follow. He is a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel with more than 20 years experience leading teams and advising senior leaders from the battlefield to the boardroom.
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