Almost every team or organization has one. The colleague who doesn’t say much in most discussions. They sit back and watch while everyone else debates a topic or pounds out a conclusion or decision.
They only enter the fray when they have something very special to say.
Because what they offer is usually different and insightful, people get quiet when they speak. They carefully cultivate the brand of sage becausethey like the credibility and respect that comes from having others look to them for wisdom.
Once they opine, they retreat back to watching and listening. You can’t be a sage if you speak up too often or when you don’t have something clever to say.
Don’t be fooled. These colleagues are not shy or introverted. They intentionally choose not to say much unless their message will have a profound impact on others. They aren’t reticent. They wait for their moment, should it arrive, where they can offer a viewpoint or perspective that will have a major influence.
In this way, they cultivate a brand of intelligence and importance. They want to be seen as someone who is smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable than everyone else. They revel in this persona, so much so, that they work hard never to violate the rule of speaking up when they only have something average to say.
If they are truly insightful, this persona can be mesmerizing. Others seek their opinions about their hardest problems and toughest riddles.
But they rob the team of their everyday input. By choosing not to engage as ideas develop, they allow the team to wander and find their way without their help.
Good leaders don’t tolerate the sage.
They insist on a more even contribution. They involve the sage in every discussion by asking them questions and probing their answers. Oracles are good for mythologies but not for teams of hardworking colleagues.
The wealth advisor E.F. Hutton ran wildly successful commercials in the 1970s and 80s which featured people in various social settings suddenly falling silent when someone mentioned advice from E.F. Hutton.
The idea was that insight is not equal, and those with special knowledge also have something special to say. The tagline, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen,” captured this idea to the delight of a generation of television consumers.
But what works for advertising advice is not the example colleagues need in team meetings. Personal brands are always less important than substantive contribution.
Good leaders don’t allow sages to climb the mountain. They insist on hearing what they have to say as the dialogue unfolds.
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
