Leverage Your Negativity: A surprising Way to Guide Your Team
Unconventional Wisdom
Here's a leadership nugget that might just raise an eyebrow or two. Want to steer your team towards success?
Try leading with a negative spin.
Yes, you heard that right. I'm advocating for a dose of negativity.
A simple guiding principle
Before you toss me out the window with the baby and the bathwater, let me clarify. I'm not recommending that you change into a glass-half-empty leader.
Instead, there’s a principle that I read in a book by governance guru John Carver that is for boards but can also apply to supervising team members.
His wisdom nugget? Instead of creating a rule for every single task the organizational leader needs to handle, just tell them what to avoid.
If you try to micromanage every move, you might stifle an opportunity that has not been explicitly endorsed.
So, it's actually smarter to specify what NOT to do. This gives the person the freedom to tackle everything else. Plus, there are way way more dos to remember than don’ts!
The Original Example
Take Adam and Eve, for example. God didn't give them a list of all the trees they could munch on. He just pointed to one and said, "Don't eat from it."
Adam and Eve didn’t have to remember every single tree they could eat from. All they needed to do was remember one not to eat from.
One rule. One tree. Easy to remember.
Too bad they didn't listen. They made a direct beeline to the forbidden tree. Which goes to show that even if you’re clear it doesn’t always mean people follow…
How Leading Negatively Empowers Teams
So, back to your team. Effective leaders sketch out the boundaries, empowering their team with the freedom to make their own choices within those confines.
One way to accomplish this is by setting up 'riverbanks' by defining what not to do. This way, they know exactly how to steer clear of failure!
After all, isn't it easier to remember one rule rather than a thousand?
Your team members will feel a greater sense of empowerment and freedom:
🛑 They don’t have to check with you for permission on every little thing.
🧪 They know they can try and do things as long as they stay within the boundaries and don’t violate the don’t guideline.
🗺️ They have freedom to explore options without feeling constrained by needing approval from the leader all the time.
Team members flourish when they feel empowered and trusted.
So, leaders, go forth and be... negative!
Want to improve your team leadership skills?
We’d love to talk to you!
Book a no-obligation, free consulting call!
