How many times have you seen a senior level leader ask a
subordinate who is struggling, “What can I do to support you?” I know I’ve asked
that question dozens of times, at least. On the surface, it sounds incredibly
supportive. But it can bring more unintended negative effects than the positive
help intended – especially if it is ill timed.
The question can become loaded if the
junior leader is feeling lost in the weeds. Believe it or not, just asking this question can further stress her/him
out – they are looking to us to have some answers and this question can make it sound like we don't have a plan! Did the cavalry arrive, but forget ammunition? It can also seem like just one more thing to figure out, to ponder, to distract. It can be one more question s/he feels
pressure to have a good answer for. Since leaders are performance oriented by
nature, they feel like they need to come up with the “right” answer to every
question posed. A skilled senior leader might account for all of this and
accommodate, but there is still a fundamental problem with this question. It
shifts responsibility from the senior to the junior leader. Essentially, we are
telling her that not only does she need to improve her performance, but she’s
got to figure out the senior leader’s job as well!
If they knew, they would have tried it already! In the Health
Care business, we usually promote from the clinical ranks. Our front-line
managers are usually pulled from the top 5% of the field - the best of the best
– are highly driven and have achievement-oriented personalities. If you’ve got
the right person in the job, they’ve already tried everything they know how to
do, asked everyone they respect what to do and may be in panic mode racking
their brains about what to do next. Simply put, if they knew what they needed from
you, they would have already asked and if they knew what to do, they wouldn’t
need you!
What are we really here for? We are in our positions because we
have years of experience and training and can see things the junior leader
can’t see from her perspective - her “stripe on the beach ball” * We know
things she wouldn’t even dream of asking. We have access to resources she doesn’t
know exist. We’ve been in similar situations and we’ve seen others in similar
situations. We are there to synthesize all of that into tangible support. We
bring ideas and actions the junior leader can’t request, because she can’t fathom.
So, I can’t ever ask? Don’t get me wrong, we actually should
inquire to find out if there are any resources we can get or logjams we can
clear – eventually. We should ask what we can do to help, but not at first, not
as a primary strategy and not until we’ve done a whole lot more. It should be used as a fail-safe. Yes, we have the authority or the resources
to move hills and mountains the junior cannot. If we can cut through red tape, get
quickly a question quickly answered, expedite a request or authorize a
resource, we can almost magically help. We just have to be careful how we ask –
and more importantly, when.
When to ask. I’ll bet you’re familiar with this scenario: a senior
leader (or a team from “corporate”) arrives in town or calls to help a
struggling program or agency. The junior leader knows why you’re there, and
even if you have an excellent relationship, she is dreading the encounter to
some extent. Leaders like to achieve, and they when they know they’re not, and it’s
tough place to be in. So, the senior asks to go over the plan. We poke holes in
it (as we should), question it, remind them (as if they didn’t know) how much
is riding on the turnaround, and offer a few suggestions. If we precede that or
even follow that up directly by asking what we can do, it’s likely
going to bring more frustration than relief. Let’s hold off a little….in fact,
I think it would be more effective if we hold off critiquing the plan as well.
No ifs, ands or buts. Our message to junior leadership needs to
be clear: we are in this together and we are by your side. As long as you are
trying in good faith, I’m there. And by the way, I’ve been where you are, and I
know how to get through this. Just asking what we can do to help implies, “I’ll
help, as soon as you tell me what you need.” No. I’m here to help right now. We will figure this out. Let’s get to work.
First, roll your sleeves up. Consider this example. I had earlier arrived from the airport in a struggling agency. The newly promoted Director
was in it deep – a multiple-paged plan of correction in response to a recent
poor state survey, the financial report was bleeding red all over the page,
productivity bad, admissions down, key positions open, at least two clinicians in
need of performance plans and an unhappy office team. The day before, by phone,
I had helped him develop a list of important tasks and presently we had just
finished putting them on the dry erase board and numbering them by priorities.
The Senior Vice President had been on a later flight and when she arrived, she
gave the Director a coffee cup filled with his favorite candy, a hug and asked
for a work space. She set up quickly and looked at the dry erase board. She didn’t
ask for an update, go over the plan and, importantly, she didn't ask what she could do. She quickly looked at the list and
attacked the stack of resumes and began setting up interviews and doing phone
screens (recruiting for the key positions was high on the priority list). She
also pulled up the EMR and Plan of Correction and started doing some of the
required chart reviews.
Soon the Director looked like a new man! He was visibly relieved,
and the pep was back in his step as the three of us worked that day on his
priorities. The three of us got a lot done
that half day. We took him out to diner that night and causally discussed
the plan and went over what was working and what wasn’t. Later that night the VP and I
discussed OUR plan to support the Director.
Now we can ask. The next morning, I met with him and started
out with what I, the VP and the company would do to help. We went through the
plan together – including poking holes and suggesting edits – and revised it
together. Finally, I did ask him if there was anything else we could do for him.
He couldn’t think of anything at first, as he profusely thanked the VP and I.
Then he remembered a capital expense that was caught up in red tape. We ensured
him we would (turns out it only took two quick phone calls). I asked as a final
check, not a staring point. I used it as a final reassurance to ensure we’d uncovered very stone, we respected his viewpoint and to reinforce I was there
for him.
The bottom line. We expect leaders at every level to assess key
clinical and business issues and develop a plan of action. Since supporting our
first line supervisors is probably the most vital role we play in mid-level or
senior leadership, why would we model anything less? Asking what we can do to
support a junior leader can be an effective reinforcement, closer or reminder
of our support. It is less effective and potentially counterproductive an opener
or primary tactic.
*A
reference to the “beach ball” metaphor that illustrates how we can only see
things from our own perspective without training, effort and deliberate
compensation. Susan Scott explains it this way in her brilliant book Fierce Conversations “Think of your company as a beach ball. Picture the beach
ball as having a red stripe, a green stripe, a yellow stripe, and a blue
stripe. Let's imagine that you are the president of the company. That's you
standing on the blue stripe. The blue stripe is where you live, every day, day
after day. If someone asks you what color your company is, you look down around
your feet and say, ‘My company is blue.’ “
