"Small" experiments
... create "big" growth for leaders.
One last question as we wrap up – How do I keep growing as a leader?
That was my client’s final question as we came to the end of their coaching program. They were committed to their continuing growth, and they didn’t want to lose the momentum they’d gained by working with a coach.
This particular leader was brilliant at the technical stuff and able to manage and execute on large programs across multiple departments. Where they had grown the most was in their “influence” skills – the human stuff. (BTW, the “human stuff” will become increasingly important as Artificial Intelligence becomes more and more adept at the technical and analytical work that leaders do.)
We sat and brainstormed a bit about different things that I’ve seen leaders do to keep growing, and then I asked a question:
“Have we talked about small experiments?”
Ah, small experiments. I love these things. Seriously.
The basic idea is this:
Pick a growth area/goal.
Choose one action that you think will get you closer to that goal.
Don’t risk more than you can afford to lose.
Take action.
Observe the results.
Celebrate any successes.
Apply what you learn.
Start the loop over again and continue making progress.
(I made this video a few years ago to emphasize the value of focusing on “What did I learn?” vs. “Did I get it right?"
There are two personality types in particular that I recommend these for:
The overly-analytical type.
The perfectionist
The “fire-aim-ready” type.
For the overly-analytical and the perfectionist, we can easily fall into “analysis paralysis.” We continue looking for an “ideal” solution – one without any flaws. There are a few problems with this pattern:
It takes a lot of time.
It takes a lot of brain power/energy.
Perfect solutions are not possible, so we don’t get the return we wanted on all that time and energy.
Because leadership requires us to commit to an action, this analysis paralysis is a derailer and a genuine threat.
When you focus on making iterative progress, you don’t have to get it right the first time – just “good enough.”
I first started to embrace the power of “good enough” when I came across the idea of “maximizers” vs. “satisficers.” (For a summary of the idea, read here.)
When you work an iterative process, focused on finding a “good enough” solution and learning from the experience, you make progress for yourself and enjoy the process along the way.
The second type for this is the Fire-Aim-Ready?
These folks are a force of nature, a rocket ship at full power. They can move heaven and earth, and they do it FAST.
When they are on target, they do fantastic work. And if they are just a few degrees off, they blow up all kinds of stuff. (Elon Musk comes to mind right now as an example of this type. He is comfortable with breaking a lot of things for the sake of speed, and he is not worried about the cost or fallout.)
I’ve worked with a lot of these leaders in the automotive industry. They radiate power and confidence. They can also find themselves financially overextended, stressed out, and tempted to sign car deals that are just on the other side of what is legal. That’s where we emphasize “don’t risk more than you can afford to lose.”
Yes, taking that path will make you go slower than you want to. It will require you to take time to reflect on what you are doing and the results you are getting. It will also build trust in you because you are no longer taking rash actions. It will drastically lower your stress level because you are not constantly leveraging yourself to the point of breaking, taking non-stop huge risks, expecting non-stop huge rewards, and then suffering the inevitable fallout when one of those huge risks does not pay off like you hoped.
Readers may notice that I typically end my posts with “This week’s small experiment …”
Well, now you know what I’m talking about :-)
This week’s small experiment - Any time you feel “stuck,” ask, “What small experiment can help me get traction here?”