Quiet Leadership

USING THE SIX STEPS TO HELP SOMEONE SOLVE A PROBLEM

The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.

BERTRAND RUSSELL (1872–1970)

One of the more challenging interactions leaders have with their employees is when something isn’t going right: a team needs to be replaced; a computer system isn’t working; a launch isn’t hitting its targets. It’s when the employee has not been able to work out how to solve a problem and the leader is stepping in to help.

The standard leadership approach involves telling people what to do. The new way, the way of a Quiet Leader, is to improve people’s thinking. Let’s take a look at how this applies to solving problems.

Mark was a financial controller at a large ...