How Leaders Choose What to Teach at Their Meetings

Monica, a mid-level manager, asked me to help her improve leadership skills by speaking at her regional meeting. She also told me of her plan to ask her managers to teach each other their favorite leadership skills during breakout sessions. Our conversation went like this...

Me, "What specific strategies will your leaders teach each other?"

Monica, "I'm not sure yet. But I think there are many different approaches to improve leadership. I want them to share their techniques."

Me, "Will your leaders have time to try many different approaches when they get back to work?"

Monica, "Probably not − everybody is complaining about having too much to do."

Me, "Well, instead of their sharing lots of different approaches, why don't we help them learn the few techniques that actually have a good chance of working?"

Monica, "What does that mean?"

Me, "It means if your people don't have time to test several techniques (i.e., experiment) when they get back to work, I suggest that you focus on the ones that best predict leadership success."

Monica, "And you know these?"

Me, "Not just me! Anyone who does his or her research can discover what predicts success. Think of it this way. If you walk into a bookstore and zip over to the leadership section, you will see dozens of books , right? The fundamental question is, "how should you decide which book to buy?"

Monica, "I give up Dave, help me out."

Me, "The same way a doctor chooses which treatment to give patients."

Monica, "You mean research?"

Me, "That's right! I'm saying that we should employ the same evidence-based approach to improving your leaders’ skills as doctors use to improve their patients’ health. Let's combine my analysis of the leadership success with the insights from your best leaders."

Monica, "Sold!"

Hippocrates once said, “There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.” The conversation is really about how leaders should use science to help choose which initiative to roll out, change to implement, training to conduct... If you don't have time to waste trying all the different ways of reaching a goal, let research conduct those costly experiments. The essence of science is prediction. Science has the tools and rules to say, "These data to suggest (not guarantee) that if you try this approach, you’ll probably achieve this result."

Leadership (and most non-fiction) authors are really saying that if you follow their prescriptions, they predict you probably will achieve a desired outcome. Unfortunately, they usually base their predictions only on their experiences -- seldom on the research. If they needed to prove their case in a court of law, the judge would throw it out for lack of evidence.

Spending your limited resources on ideas grounded in one leader's perspective is like going to a doctor who prescribes medications that have only been used on himself.

The Two Fundamental Questions Effective Leaders Ask
Next time you embark on a journey to improve leadership skills or select any book to help you grow, I urge you to think about the criteria beneath your choice by answering two fundamental questions:

1. Where is the evidence that predicts this approach will produce the desired result?
2. How can I adapt their approach to fit my culture?

Keep stretching when you're pulled,
Dave