From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership

SETTING DIRECTION WITH FEEDBACK

Your phone just rang. On the line is the CEO, telling you about speculation that a major competitor plans to launch a new product. If that proves to be true, the CEO tells you, one of your company's major product lines will be impacted. The company needs to devise a strategy to respond. What do you do?

Your initial tendency is usually to get your team together in the nearest conference room and lay it all out for them—not only the situation at hand but also how you believe your team (department, division, and so on) should respond. After all, time is of the essence. The quicker you can get the word out to the team along with an action plan, the faster you can respond.

My reaction to this scenario, however, is an ...