Team members have doubts.
Doubts about the viability of the strategy. Concerns about competitors and the marketplace. Uncertainty about the vision. Question marks about the competencies of their colleagues. Confusion over the highest priorities. Insecurity over their place on the team. Unease about their own skills and talents.
These doubts are natural and exist to some extent with every team member and on every team.
Good leaders accept this reality and view one aspect of their role as erasing as many of those doubts as they can.
The best leaders don’t wait for others to express their uneasiness. They presume reservations always exist and consistently address lingering doubts through a set of critical behaviors.
First, good leaders foster an open, transparent, and collaborative environment where any issue or question can be discussed.
They tell team members over and over, “If you have a question or concern, others have it too, so put it on the table and let’s discuss it.”
It only takes one taboo topic or one discussion where the leader becomes defensive for team members to keep their concerns to themselves.
So, the best leaders set a clear expectation for open dialogue and consistently engage questions and concerns without becoming defensive or combative.
They find time to answer questions and discuss whatever anyone wants to talk about at nearly every meeting or gathering.
Second, good leaders express the reasons for their optimism and why they believe the team is on the right path.
They don’t just act optimistically. They explain why their view is positive and how they believe the team will achieve what is in front of them.
Third, they communicate privately and publicly why they believe each and every team member is competent, what skills and talents they possess that the leader holds in high regard, and how they depend on team members’ abilities at critical moments.
This elevates everyone’s views about those colleagues who might be viewed as less skilled or competent.
Good leaders work hard to erase the ongoing and natural doubts team members have. It’s a critical aspect of being an effective leader.
Even minor doubts can fester and shape the everyday reality of a team. So, good leaders do their best to openly address them before they turn into full-fledged skepticism.
In the words of English writer Benjamin Jowett, “Doubt comes in at the window when inquiry is denied at the door.”
A Daily Dispatch from the Front Lines of Leadership.
