How Leaders Intervene Effectively

The previous article looked at focus and how distractions (especially the self-inflicted ones) are a concentration and efficiency thief. The protagonist was a race car driver, which, interestingly enough and quite by accident, sets up the next part of the book, which touches on feedback.

One of the critical skills of elite racers is the ability to provide qualitative feedback to the race engineer on how the car is performing. The engineer can then square that qualitative data against the numbers they see through their live telemetry systems.

The richer the capacity for the driver to provide accurate, highly descriptive feedback, the better everyone understands the numbers creating the most straightforward performance feedback loop.

The Takeaway: blend your hard numbers with precise, highly illustrative explanations and specific examples, all delivered with an instructional feel. That ensures that your feedback will be a powerful learning catalyst and positively impact behaviour.

The practice of delivering effective feedback or intervening more strenuously is at the heart of part three of my book, Humanity at Work. Foundational is a leader’s ability to focus on goal setting and setting clear expectations. Although feedback is crucial to instilling a learning mindset, fuelling innovation, and fostering improvement, many fall on the essential aspect of teamwork and collaboration.

See also: Would You Rather Your Feedback be Formal and Infrequent or Frequent and Informal?

Part four of Humanity at Work addresses why some leaders refrain from getting involved in matters they should be easing or sticking their nose into, while others are too involved by hovering and micromanaging in both instances to their people’s detriment. The chapters then provide an array of practical tools a leader can choose from to intervene thoughtfully and effectively.

Readers will also learn how creating a climate of psychological safety is foundational to intervening well and making a feedback-rich, high-performance team. The type of group where standards are high and learning, being keen about problem-solving, and an improvement mindset rule the day.

One of the book’s most vital voices, Dr. Tammy Carroll, organizational psychologist and founder of Momenta Consultation, closes part four. She reminds readers to make their workplaces “inhospitable to interpersonal conflict” with practical, ready-to-use suggestions. Hint: Prevention! You’ll also learn some essential steps in dealing with interpersonal conflict on your team when folks are looking to you to intercede.

We’ll preview the book’s last two parts in the next installment: Rewarding and Recognizing and Building the Right Culture.