Leadership Nudge® 388 – How much authority to push to information?

A leader’s job is to structure the organization so that it creates the right conversations, thus pushing authority to information. Here, David discusses what it sounds like when a leader manages information instead.

So I got a question. At what point is pushing down authority to information become the leader absolving themselves of responsibility. It has nothing to do with how far down you push the authority. It has to do with how the leader responds to issues. When they start saying things like, “Well, I wasn’t told” . . . “I didn’t know” – passive voice. That’s a problem. That’s where it tips over to abdication. And what it reveals is a mindset where the leader thinks their job is to manage content and decisions as opposed to the structure of the organization. This is, in my mind, exactly wrong.  

A leader’s job is to structure the organization so that it creates the right conversations happening so that the content that comes out is (more likely than not) correct and optimal for the organization. If you start hearing that from your boss, time to run. 

I’m David Marquet. That’s your Leadership Nudge.