Stop Driving. Start Understanding.

We have numbers that have to be hit. Which means our team has numbers they have to hit. Which means we need to push them.

Or do we?

“If my team just hits their goals, I hit mine.”

That mindset is common. This is what we do. That’s not a bad thing, but that’s only going to get us so far.

This is why we get frustrated. We feel like we’re dragging people instead of leading them.

Why won’t they work? Why aren’t they hitting it? Why? What am I doing wrong?

Good news is we can change it.

Curiosity Builds Trust

Not just authority.

When people know we care. When they know we are with them. They open up.

They have conviction. They want to be part of something.

When they open up, now we can help them get to where they want to go, not where we want them to go.

We too often try to solve performance problems inside the office, in the same chair, in the same environment.

Get them out.

Coffee. Lunch. A walk. Golf. Whatever. Get them out.

Separate them from what they do. Understand who they are. What they want. Where they want to go.

If they’re just doing it because it was mandated, there’s no conviction. You have successfully given them a job.

No ownership.
No discipline when it gets hard.
No push through.

Curiosity Prevents Assumptions

Assuming creates an A$$ out of you and me.

When a team member is underperforming, you might think:

They don’t care.
They’re lazy.
They’re not bought in.

But what if it’s:

Confusion?
Lack of clarity?
Fear?
Skill gap?
Stress at home?
No connection to the goal?

If we solve the wrong problem, we waste time, energy, and momentum.

Have you ever had someone push you toward goals you didn’t care about? I have. I’m guessing you have too. You wouldn’t get to where you are without coming across this at some point.

How did that feel? I know how it felt for me.

If it didn’t work for you, why would we do it to them?

That’s leadership. Learn from the past to develop the future. That’s on us.

Curiosity Accelerates Growth

Theirs and yours.

The moment we think:

“I already know.”

We stop. We limit ourselves. Is that where you really want to be?

We move fast.
We think five steps ahead.
We get impatient when others don’t see what we see.

Sound familiar? It just might.

Here’s the change:

Telling creates compliance.
Curiosity builds ownership.

Ownership is what creates early mornings.
Ownership is what creates efficiency.
Ownership is what creates discipline when nobody’s watching.

Vulnerability creates that. It’s not a sign of weakness. Just let that go.

Simple things:

“Help me understand.”
“What do you really want?”
“What’s holding you back?”

The strongest leader in the room isn’t the one who says, “I already know.” You say it, they will too.

Whether you like it or not, they are watching you.

It’s the one who says, “Help me understand.”

The Change

Curiosity is a discipline.

It takes time. Just don’t hang onto that and use it as an excuse.
It takes slowing down. When you do, you speed up.
It takes putting ego aside. Check it.

If you aren’t helping them win what matters to them, they won’t help you win what matters to you.

When you change from driving people toward your goals to understanding their goals first, you stop dragging them along.

You start leading them.

It gets easier.

Not because the goals go away. Because we are all going the same direction.

Start with curiosity.

That’s when leadership starts.

DNAcall.com

We build leaders who build, not just hit numbers.