Team Leadership: Asking Why?

Inspiring team members to think of the greater good beyond their building/department or themselves. Making wise, informed decisions. Getting everyone on the same page. Helping smart people act even smarter in teams. These are the responsibilities of a leader.  Often the theory is – smart people will make smart decisions in a team setting. Or, smart people can make smart decisions without a plan.  We know that simply is not the case, yet it still exists as somewhat of a leadership myth.

One idea I have been looking at this summer relates to decision making.  I started by looking at ways to challenge my own biases.  I was (and I still am to a degree) concerned about confirmation bias which is the favoring of information that confirms preconceptions and status quo bias which is the tendency to stick with the current/known.

We have started reading the Simon Sinek book, “Start with Why” in an effort to clarify our vision, but also to dissect the way we make decisions.  One of my favorite quotes from the book is, “Instead of asking WHAT should we do improve?” the question must be asked, “WHY did we start doing WHAT we are doing in the first place…?”