Kill The Superhero Mentality

We are discussing how much should we tell our teams when we don’t have all of the answers. We hear different experiences from Michael, Colin, and Jeff before turning to you, the audience.

Is it okay to say ‘I don’t know’?

Colin says there’s a common superhero mentality around entrepreneurs. However, those who put their hands up and admit that they don’t have everything worked out yet are supposedly better listeners because they don’t shy away from the truth. They aren’t afraid to admit that they don’t have the answer yet.

As a leader, you need to convey an ‘everything is ok’ front. But by being truthful and transparent, you exude confidence amongst your team and investors, motivating your team, even when they know behind-the-scenes things are not going well.

As an entrepreneur it is important to realize that things are never as good as you think they are, and they are never as bad as you think they are. Jeff Sass

Mistakes will happen

It is common for leaders to ask, ‘What went wrong and why?’ But these are the questions that could be reframed in order to dig for a better outcome. There’s always a lesson behind the mistake. Taking this approach will also empower a transparent culture.

When you believe in your business, and things go wrong, you can come back knowing it was just a hiccup. You will be able to remain calm and confident that you are capable of resolving issues and using them for the better.

To practice this, Jeff advises to remain present in the moment and focused on the task in hand. Remain calm so that you’re able to continue motivating your team.

Michael adds to Jeff’s point: look at the facts! Facts don’t lie, and they are emotion-free. We get so caught up in the emotion of it that we lose clarity in the moment.

Measuring success based on your own goals

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can relieve the stress of difficult business situations. KPIs are critical! You may be flying in the fog, but the KPI can give you a heads-up on what’s coming your way and what you can expect.

Pay attention to those indicators! Don’t make any moves before checking your leading indicators.

Once you have checked your KPIs, you will soon understand what is going on and where your business is at. You can only solve a problem when you actually know what the problem is.

Protect your team from unnecessary stress

There are some things that the team cannot sort out, and only the leader can solve them. A balance of transparency and putting in necessary precautions to prevent further difficulties is key.

Observe how your team manages failure. Can they handle the lows, the stress, and the failures? How do they react to not achieving a set goal or falling at a hurdle?

This correlates directly with how comfortable your team feels to put their hand up and say something has gone wrong. As a leader, you must establish a safe environment for employees to make mistakes and learn from them.

Read more here: https://startup.club/kill-the-superhero-mentality/