The Killer Question by Jonathan Stevens

“We all need an opinion, a point of view about my leadership contribution, what value I bring to this organisation as a leader - and why it matters. If I don’t know, how will anyone else?”

 I heard this recently from a somewhat chastened senior leader who had been ambushed by a senior colleague in the elevator at work and asked what difference exactly s/he made to the organisation. Judging by the rueful expression, s/he had clearly fumbled their response.

 Why should anyone be led by you?

It’s a tough question and one that was famously the subject of a celebrated article in the Harvard Business Review (Goffee, R. and Jones G. HBS 2000) Very often it’s a difficult one to answer in the moment, without appearing clichéd, awkward or (worse) pompous and arrogant.

 So, can you answer the killer question? Can you talk about the leadership difference you make in your organisation and why anyone else should be led by you in the first place?

 Elevator pitch

We've all been there. Tackled by the boss or another senior exec and expected to roll off a polished, self-assured and confidently assertive response. No rehearsals, no time to come up with something career-enhancing that makes you sound like Winston Churchill or Jacinda Ardern, just an-off-the-cuff, in the moment, whatever I can think of right now, whilst the boss starts counting off the seconds.

 I don’t know about you, but talking about me is usually my favourite topic of conversation, but definitely not in situations like this one!  

 Over the course of my career as a leadership consultant, I've been lucky to work with many leaders from all kinds of organisations and have met some memorable characters along the way.

 Doorstep!

As a coach, I’ve found one of the more effective experiential leadership development activities – one where you are likely get the most return – is to doorstep people. This involves asking them (when they are least expecting it) exactly what leadership they feel they bring to their team or organisation. To make it more challenging, I also like to film the encounter to give the participant just 60 seconds to get the message across before we review their performance. This is done without rehearsals and there are no retakes.

 More often than not people react to this challenge in predictable ways – incredulity, refusal, hostility, disbelief and then, as reality dawns and they realise it’s for real, the colour drains from their faces, they start rambling an answer and we’re off. People deal with the stress of the situation in a number of ways; some fall back on their impressive job titles and impart the bare minimum, others talk at length about everything they’ve done in their career. Often people tend to conflate ‘leadership experience’ with ‘qualifications’ and list every one that they have, starting with their exam results! Others act as if they are applying for their job again or are being interviewed by the police.

 I’ve had the privilege of having been a senior leader at various times during my career and am ashamed to say that I’ve made a lot of the same mistakes myself.

 Being yourself

Every so often, however, some people don’t attempt to credentialise their way out of trouble, but talk authentically about what they are like to work with, what others say about them (at their best and worse), what colleagues need from them, what they want to achieve with their team and the difference they want to collectively make in the organisation. And articulate all of this in a clear and compelling way.

 All too often, what we think others want to hear gets in the way of what they really want us to say and our inner voice takes over. US comic actor Nick Offerman famously said; “Don’t half ass two things, whole ass one thing” – that’s some sage advice and a sound maxim for what we should seek to say as leaders.

 In today’s uncertain and volatile Covid-world, nothing can really be taken for granted anymore. One can make a strong case that now - more than ever - leaders at all levels in organisations need to be able to talk about what they bring to the table.

 Helping people with potential develop their leadership capacity and articulate what this means to those around them, remains one of the most rewarding aspects of my work as a consultant. I know that I’m adding value when I do this and it’s given me a renewed sense of purpose as a result.

 Jonathan Stevens is a leadership, team development specialist and executive coach. He has been helping people get out of their own way for over 25 years and striving to do the same himself, with varying degrees of success, over the same period.