Power Tools for Leadership: Balance Advocacy with Inquiry [leadership]

I periodically share what I consider to be power tools for leadership. In his book Principle Centered Leadership, Steven Covey explains, “Real leadership power comes from an honorable character and from the exercise of certain power tools and principles.” The metaphor is apt. In order to use a power tool safely, you need courage and skill; you ought to be sure that the tool is appropriate for the purpose and you must take care not to do damage.

This month’s tool comes from Bill Joiner’s toolkit with some support from Peter Senge. As a leader, you have conversations all day long. And you know that some of those conversations are, or have the potential to be, transformative- but they fall short. You and your team are frustrated and productivity suffers.


Step 1: Surface Your Own Assumptions

Reflect on a recent conversation that left you frustrated. On the left side of a sheet of paper, record the conversation (as if it were a transcript) to the best of your ability. On the right hand side, write what you were thinking and feeling during each part of the discussion. Now examine your own thinking.

What was your frame for this conversation? How were you thinking about its purpose?

What assumptions did you make about the situation or the person?

What are you learning about your own behavior?

You might want to try this with your leadership team after a particularly challenging conversation. Let everyone share the results of the two-column exercise and discuss the questions together.


Step 2: Practice Your Dialogue SkillsThere are two basic skills and two supporting strategies. Try these tools first without the power turned on (i.e. in low risk situations):

SKILLS

Advocate: Clearly state your perspective on the issue, the goals or the solution.
Inquire: Invite the perspective of the person you are speaking with after every statement of advocacy you make.

STRATEGIES

Illustrate: Offer concrete observations and examples so that others can better understand your rationale. When you inquire, ask others to do the same.
Frame: At frequent intervals in the conversation, step back and clarify the purpose, make your assumptions explicit or explain why this conversation is important to you.

Step 3: Check your intentions

Are you really open to other viewpoints? Do you believe that collaborative conversations will yield a better result?

Step 4: Watch for Traps

Many of us advocate without inquiring—(we tell it like we see it and let the chips fall where they may) or inquire without advocating (we figure out where everyone else stands, hold our cards close to the chest, and look for our best tactical advantage). This breeds mistrust and is antithetical to transformative conversation. Covey calls this coercive power. His meaning is clear.

Sometimes our intentions are good but our lack of clarity means that we are arguing over different things. Diligent framing and illustrating is often the solution.


Step 5: Power Up

Once you are comfortable using the dialogue skills, bring them into your transformative conversations. Share the tool with your colleagues and periodically discuss how well you are all doing in using them.