By
Terry Wall – Guest Columnist
Jan 10,
2019, 5:24pm EST
Phil Kopman was my first supervisor, and
he could be gruff. After all, he DID threaten to put my hand in the
shredder. But he also taught a great leadership lesson—that the role of a
leader is to teach.
Early
on, I went to him with a problem. “Phil, I’m having trouble with Murphy’s
Widget Company, and here’s the issue….” He listened, and I asked what I
should do.
Instead
of telling me, he asked, “What does the handbook say?” I admitted I hadn’t
checked. Going back to his paperwork, Phil grumbled, “Don’t come back till
you’ve checked the handbook.”
I
checked the handbook, but still wasn’t sure what to do. So I sheepishly
went back to Phil. He looked up from his paperwork, with a sigh that said,
“You again?”
Me:
“I checked the handbook, but I’m still not sure.” Phil: “What
did it say?” Me: “Well it really didn’t address this
situation. But it seemed to suggest I should probably do A, B, C, or
D.” Phil: “And?”
n
probably rule out C because of…. And A won’t work because…. That
leaves B and D.” Phil: “So? What will you
do?” Me: “Well D probably isn’t a good idea because… So, I guess
B is the answer.”
“There
you go,” Phil said as he went back to his paperwork, and then growled, “Now get
outta here and get some work done.”
Phil
taught me that the leader’s role is to teach, in particular to teach others how
to think. He could have given me, or anyone else, the answers. But he
knew that giving us the answers wasn’t nearly as effective as getting us to
think through the problem.
And by
asking questions, he taught us to think through to the right solution.
And
that’s your role as leader—to teach others to think, to ask the right
questions, and by doing so, show others how to get to the right conclusion.
Now for
the shredder. One day Phil stormed out of his office and blustered, in
front of everyone, “Who’s working the XYZ case?” I acknowledged that I
was, and he bellowed, “And why are sensitive papers in the trash can instead of
the shredder?”
I said,
“The trash can? Uh, I meant to shred them, I…I must have
forgot.” Phil barked, “Do that again, and your HAND’s going in the
shedder.” The office burst into laughter, and even I had to laugh.
When
helping others with leadership, I try to be in teacher mode, asking the
questions that get people to explore alternatives, look at
consequences. It’s what I learned from Phil. But I’ll never threaten
to put someone’s hand in the shredder.
That
reminds me of another lesson Phil taught me: Never say never.
How often
are you in teacher mode? How easily do you slip into answering questions,
rather than asking the questions that teach people to think?
Terry Wall is president of T.G. Wall
Management Consulting in Washington Township, N.J.
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