From the Mouths of Babes…What Can You Learn From Kids About Leadership?

Do You Micromanage?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been accused of micromanaging on an occasion or two.

You think you’re just being helpful.  You just want them to get it “right”…as in doing it your way.

Working with adults, this approach works eight out of 10 times.  Other times it’s a disaster.

Oh, the Joy of Kids!

Dealing with kids, you learn (through banging your head against a brick wall enough times) that just telling them what to do and expecting them to do it isn’t always the best approach. 

Think tantrum’s, smashing things, just ignoring you, talking back, or doing the opposite just to test you.

Training Days

Today I went fishing with my Dad, brother and son.

It was my son’s second time fishing ever.  So you could say he’s like your baby-faced new recruit with lots of energy and little experience.

My brother baited up the line and casted it out.

When a fish bit, he set the hook and then handed the pole to my son to reel in.

My son eagerly reeled it in and landed the fish.

Step Back for Better Results

What happened next was more interesting.

After watching several fish being caught, my brother and I were chatting briefly.

During our conversation we heard my son say, “I’ve got a fish!”

We turned and see him setting the hook and cranking the reel’s handle like a pro.

…I never showed him how to set the hook.

…I never told him to reel in the fish.

He just did it.

How Do You Manage?

Now think about the people you manage.

Isn’t it great when they just get the picture and figure it out from your brief instructions?

Don’t you like it when they take initiative to get things done without your prompting?

Wouldn’t it be great if all your direct reports were as full of initiative and creativity?

It CAN be that way.

Sometimes it just requires you to step back and give them some space to figure it out on their own.

Sometimes giving them the big picture and walking away, instead of micromanaging, will get better results.

Hire the Best and Get Out of the Way

That’s why you hire good people with initiative and potential.

Don’t squash it before it can bloom.

It’s easy when things go right. How to handle things in the real world.

Imagine your automatic guidance system is leading you into disaster. You cannot communicate with your support team. And you’re thousands of miles from your home office.

Imagine your life is on the line. And you have overridden the automatic systems and run things on manual.

Each day you face similar challenges in your business. Your best-laid plans fall apart. Mr. Murphy’s Law kicks in and everything starts unraveling.

How do you handle it?
Do you know what to do?
Have you trained for this?
Are you committed to action?

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s historic step on the moon.

This wasn’t an ordinary job or business.

John F. Kennedy set the bar high,

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth.”

Many prior rocket flights were unsuccessful (read BOOM!)

The astronauts flew over 950,000 miles on technology less powerful than today’s $10 calculators.

And when they were nearing their goal (completing the landing on the moon), the autopilot started flying them to a boulder strewn area instead of the smooth landing site in the “Sea of Tranquility.”



So what did they do? They did what any red blooded American man in that situation would do.

No, he didn’t put his head between his legs and kiss his a** goodbye.

Armstrong took over the manual controls and coasted the lunar lander to a safe landing with 20 seconds of fuel remaining.

(Sounds like a NASCAR race I watched recently…)

Oh, I digress.

Looking back we see success pulled from disaster. You and your company face these same types of issues, albeit on a smaller scale.

· You make a bold plan; launch on a big idea that you put the resources of your company behind.
· Sh** happens.
· You have to act fast or face disaster.
· You realize that as an entrepreneur, many times it’s up to you and your force of will to save the day. Your butt’s on the line (it’s your bank account, your personal guarantee on the loan, your home that’s mortgaged to the hilt and your credit cards that are maxed out).
· And sometimes luck is on your side.

What did the astronauts do to ensure success when it could have easily turned into a disaster with 530 million people watching?

· The astronauts were awesome human specimens, capable of withstanding the most tortuous stresses.
· They planned for disasters of every kind imaginable and trained on countermeasures.
· They trained in the most stressful situations.
· They refused to let the scientists take out their manual controls (you never know when you’ll need them).
· They knew their mission and failure was not an option.

In your business those same core elements apply:
· Hire the best and put them in the right jobs.
· Determine what can possibly go wrong and plan multiple solutions for each.
· Train so that the real thing seems easy.
· You can delegate but make sure you know what is going on in your business and take over the reins quickly when you need to. It’s your business and no one cares about it more than you.
· Have a grand vision and shove failure into the back shadows of the office storeroom.


Now go out and shoot the moon!