I often say that the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my professional career have been when I’ve employed someone for their apparent skill set, and not their character. That need to fill that space in your organisation, the slight panic because they ‘can do’ what you can’t. The relief when they start...
...then the bullshit starts.
...when ‘yes’ is suffixed by a qualifying statement that makes it ‘no’...
“Yes, well, when X happens...”, “Yep, all done. Just need to...”, “It’s ready to go, apart from...”
You rely on ‘trust’. You feel honourable that you are ‘trusting’ people. You feel like you are a good leader. They won’t let you down, you say to yourself, whilst having this little nagging feeling in the back of your head.
Just give them a bit more time. And a bit more space, and they’ll deliver. Don’t pressure them, because god forbid, you don’t want them to leave... who will do the job then? Do you even know anybody else who can do this work..? After all, their reference was great, they must be able to do it. They’ll come through, you’ll see.
...then you realise you’re bullshitting yourself.
I have three tools that ensure I either don’t get into this state, or at least I get out of it quick.
The first is the hardest, and takes most time, most investment, and that is “Do the job yourself first”. At XP, I’ve done every job (and I mean EVERY job) apart from cook. I guess I could be bullshitted about cooking... but not teaching, or SEN, or safeguarding, or finance, or marketing or HR or... you become a ‘general’ ie ok at almost everything, but not specialised. But then you can hire people that are at least better than you, because you know how to do it. You can’t be bullshitted.
The second is the way to get out of the situation the best; ‘fail faster’. When you get that niggling doubt, you act on it. If someone is going to react badly, they might as well do it sooner rather than later. Set up a test, see if they come through. If not, fail faster. Cut your losses. It’s the best for both of you. You might be able to be bullshitted, but not for so long it causes lasting damage. You will find someone else, and if you don’t, then what you were trying to do would’ve failed anyway...
The last is the most sustainable, most replicable, most sensible. Yet a lot of people feel really uncomfortable doing it, because of our sense of honour and our understanding of what ‘trust’ is. It’s two words...
“Show me...”
I cannot think of one single thing that I have wanted to achieve that didn’t ‘look like’ something, that is, something you can see...
For instance, let’s think of something seemingly intangible, like say, the ‘happiness of our staff’. Let’s say we want our staff to be more happy, and you employ a ‘happy’ coach. Well, I would ask, “So what does that look like...?” - “What will I be able to see that is different to now, when our staff are more happy?”... Well, it might be that staff absences go down, or less staff are late for work, or more are willing to do extra-curricular activities, or they smile and talk more in corridors...
Whatever you want to achieve, there is always something you can see with your eyes. Everything else is not real. It’s bullshit.
When someone says they’ve done something, ask them to show you. Don’t believe it, till you’ve seen it with your own eyes.
This isn’t a case of mistrust. Trust is a transaction. You put your trust in someone to deliver something for you.
When you walk into a shop and you hand over your money, you don’t just ‘trust’ that the shop keeper will at some point in the future get you what you want. You demand it. And until you’ve seen it, until it’s in your hands, you’ll keep demanding it.
This transaction is the same as delegating, giving them responsibility and then holding them to account. Accountability is a transaction. As a leader, you must demand of yourself to see the tangible outcomes.
When you do this right, rigour and accountability in your organisation becomes public celebration. “Show me...” becomes how we celebrate the amazing work our colleagues are doing, pushing us to do more than we thought we could.
“Show me...” becomes an expectation, not a shock, and the opportunity to “Show off” and celebrate.
“Show me...” also stops you from being bullshitted, because in the end, the only person bullshitting you is yourself.
...then the bullshit starts.
...when ‘yes’ is suffixed by a qualifying statement that makes it ‘no’...
“Yes, well, when X happens...”, “Yep, all done. Just need to...”, “It’s ready to go, apart from...”
You rely on ‘trust’. You feel honourable that you are ‘trusting’ people. You feel like you are a good leader. They won’t let you down, you say to yourself, whilst having this little nagging feeling in the back of your head.
Just give them a bit more time. And a bit more space, and they’ll deliver. Don’t pressure them, because god forbid, you don’t want them to leave... who will do the job then? Do you even know anybody else who can do this work..? After all, their reference was great, they must be able to do it. They’ll come through, you’ll see.
...then you realise you’re bullshitting yourself.
I have three tools that ensure I either don’t get into this state, or at least I get out of it quick.
The first is the hardest, and takes most time, most investment, and that is “Do the job yourself first”. At XP, I’ve done every job (and I mean EVERY job) apart from cook. I guess I could be bullshitted about cooking... but not teaching, or SEN, or safeguarding, or finance, or marketing or HR or... you become a ‘general’ ie ok at almost everything, but not specialised. But then you can hire people that are at least better than you, because you know how to do it. You can’t be bullshitted.
The second is the way to get out of the situation the best; ‘fail faster’. When you get that niggling doubt, you act on it. If someone is going to react badly, they might as well do it sooner rather than later. Set up a test, see if they come through. If not, fail faster. Cut your losses. It’s the best for both of you. You might be able to be bullshitted, but not for so long it causes lasting damage. You will find someone else, and if you don’t, then what you were trying to do would’ve failed anyway...
The last is the most sustainable, most replicable, most sensible. Yet a lot of people feel really uncomfortable doing it, because of our sense of honour and our understanding of what ‘trust’ is. It’s two words...
“Show me...”
I cannot think of one single thing that I have wanted to achieve that didn’t ‘look like’ something, that is, something you can see...
For instance, let’s think of something seemingly intangible, like say, the ‘happiness of our staff’. Let’s say we want our staff to be more happy, and you employ a ‘happy’ coach. Well, I would ask, “So what does that look like...?” - “What will I be able to see that is different to now, when our staff are more happy?”... Well, it might be that staff absences go down, or less staff are late for work, or more are willing to do extra-curricular activities, or they smile and talk more in corridors...
Whatever you want to achieve, there is always something you can see with your eyes. Everything else is not real. It’s bullshit.
When someone says they’ve done something, ask them to show you. Don’t believe it, till you’ve seen it with your own eyes.
This isn’t a case of mistrust. Trust is a transaction. You put your trust in someone to deliver something for you.
When you walk into a shop and you hand over your money, you don’t just ‘trust’ that the shop keeper will at some point in the future get you what you want. You demand it. And until you’ve seen it, until it’s in your hands, you’ll keep demanding it.
This transaction is the same as delegating, giving them responsibility and then holding them to account. Accountability is a transaction. As a leader, you must demand of yourself to see the tangible outcomes.
When you do this right, rigour and accountability in your organisation becomes public celebration. “Show me...” becomes how we celebrate the amazing work our colleagues are doing, pushing us to do more than we thought we could.
“Show me...” becomes an expectation, not a shock, and the opportunity to “Show off” and celebrate.
“Show me...” also stops you from being bullshitted, because in the end, the only person bullshitting you is yourself.