As my LI connections know well, I like to share learnings from my Executive Coaching practice, hoping they resonate with others.  Here’s one which is not obvious: Leaders, don’t try to be a hero – your team and boss may not thank you for it.

I recently held a tricky coaching session with a leader.  There had been a crisis at work.  He had stepped in and ‘saved the day’.  He was expecting gratitude and admiration from his team; instead they seemed deflated and he did not understand why.  His boss seemed unhappy too.  Here’s what our discussion and the leader’s reflections uncovered…

Intention vs perception

The leader’s primary motivation in stepping in was ensuring that the team’s success was not compromised by this situation.  He thought that in doing so he was sending a message to the team that “I’ve got your back”.  He realised that the message the team received was “You’ve messed up and I don’t think you are capable of fixing it; I’ll have to do it myself.”  How de-motivating!

What’s the real problem?

The leader felt that the team were indeed capable of fixing the crisis.  However, he was not sure that they understood their responsibility to do so, and to so do quickly.  On reflection, he was not confident that he had created the right level of accountability in the team for them to step up in the moment of crisis, so he stepped in instead.  Inadvertently reinforcing that it was not their responsibility to fix the crisis.

Why is the boss unhappy?

The leader’s boss was frustrated because he wants the leader’s time and attention focused on the bigger picture.  In this situation the boss wanted to team to fix the crisis while the leader used his experience and skills to be thinking critically about broader implications: such as what are the knock-on impacts within or outside the firm, who needs to take what action as a result, and what are the comms which need to take place?  The boss wanted the leader horizon-scanning not in the weeds.

What now?

With these reflections fresh in my coachee’s mind, he decided what to do next: hold a meeting to review the whole incident with his team.  He wanted the meeting to include the following:

. The leader’s reflection that his stepping in to solve the crisis was not right – everyone makes mistakes and the leader was keen to own his and learn from it, hoping also to set a tone for his team that mistakes are learning opportunities.

. An examination of how the crisis occurred in the first place – not a ‘blame game’ but a forum for all team members to provide candid input so that everyone can clearly see the learning points and changes needed to minimise the risk of such an incident in the future.

. An open discussion to ensure clarity over responsibilities, accountability and expectations of each team member going forward.

. An explicit assurance from the leader to the team that he knows they have the skills and experience to resolve such crisis, and a discussion of what they can do differently to prepare the team (including the leader) to respond appropriately in such a pressured situation.

My coachee left the session quietly humming Tina Turner’s song from Mad Max Thunderdome… Nah, I made up that bit, but – leaders – I’m hoping that the song is now stuck in your head and you’ll remember this cautionary tale when presented with a crisis at work: think hard on whether ‘being a hero’ to ‘save the day’ is the right thing to do, or not.

Posted in Thoughts about leadership