Do this instead of managing people

One of the biggest challenge for being manager or leader is how to make his team members think and own responsibility on their own. This is not easier for many. Most companies have developed system to identify best performing individuals and promote them to become managers.

Ones the individual contributor becomes a manager, he starts wearing many hats and owns many more responsibilities than what he used to have earlier. There is notion builds in him that, he is the sole person to hold accountable and works like individual contributor but with lot more responsibilities on his shoulder. He becomes sole guy to look for for everything!

This kind of leadership is called Buffalo leadership.

Buffalo's are absolutely loyal followers of one leader. They do whatever the leader wants them to do, go wherever the leader wants them to go. 

That's why the early settlers could decimate the buffalo herds so easily by killing the lead buffalo. The rest of the herd stood around, waiting for their leader to lead them, and were slaughtered.

There exists now also leadership paradigm that tells that that the leader/manager job is to plan, organise, command, coordinate, and control. But in reality, doing this makes any team or organisation functioning like a herd of buffalo.

For the managers who follow buffalo type leadership, soon he realises the team or organisation, isn't working as well as he likes, because buffalo are loyal to one leader; they stand around and wait for the leader to show them what to do.

When the leader isn't around, they wait for him to show up. They will find a lot of "waiting around'' in any buffalo-like organisation. 

Worse, people do only what they are told them to do, nothing more, and then they "wait around" for next set of instructions. Being lead buffalo is really hard work. Giving all the orders, micro managing, doing all the "important" work takes 12–14 hours a day and most likely they will be the last person to go home.

Then there is another way. That is to have a group of responsible, interdependent team members, similar to a flock of geese. The geese fly in their "V" formation, the leadership changing frequently, with different geese taking the lead.

Every goose being responsible for getting itself to lead position when its turn came and changing roles whenever necessary, alternating as a leader, a follower, or a scout. The V formation is not done just for rotation purpose, but it is proven that this helps Geese cover the distance much faster and conserving lot more energy.

The Geese type leaders clearly see that the biggest obstacle to success is to see picture of a loyal herd of buffalo waiting for the leader, to tell them what to do.

They know they had to change the pictures to become a different kind of leader, so everyone could become a leader and become more accountable, start thinking and own responsibility!

Coaching style of management helps in this kind of leading or managing team. If there is culture created to encourage people to discover their own potential, then not only productivity increases but also the team will have lot more energy to function.

To create this kind of environment doesn't require huge effort. I would say, having conversation with team member as a coach for just ones in a month, can make a lot of difference.

Any manager can adopt coaching style and practice Geese style leadership.

The below 7 questions is all you have to follow in the coaching session and be open to listen! Let's explore these questions,

1. Start with question "What's on your mind?"

(This question just opens up lots of possibilities and helps anyone to get excited and become curious.)

2. Follow up with leading question "What is the real challenge you are facing?"

   (This can be anything such as budget cuts, attrition in team, non availability of tools etc)

3. In coaching one of the best question is "And, what else?"

(Generally the first challenge anyone mentions is not the key issue. The real challenge is a level below. Asking this "And, what else?" creates huge difference and makes other person feel that you are genuinely concerned and listening)

4. Follow up with "What do you want?"

    (Here you are becoming specific. This question helps individual to really think how to address the issue he is facing. This is key for self management)

5. "What do you want from me?"

     (Most of the times, when they answer to Q.4, people understand they have answer to challenge they are facing. But by asking, "What do you want from me?", you are helping individual realise that you are available to him when needed.)

6. What are we foregoing here? If you say YES to this, what are we saying NO?

   (Asking any one to think the different options, helps them to really discover what they miss out. This gives much better perspective then just doing what comes first to mind. This question is what making them think clearly!)

7. What was most useful or helpful during this conversation?

    (This is key. By asking what was useful or helpful, again you made them think and come out with positives which rarely happens in many meetings.)

Do feel free to let me know, what do you think and what challenges you might face if you adopt this coaching methodology to your managerial style?

Will be glad to hear!