Leadership Nudge® 396 – Give a Little Control

One of the core principles of Intent-Based Leadership is giving control to others based on the competence and clarity of others. Jenni is here with some tips on how to give control when feeling reluctant to do so.

One of the core principles of Intent-Based Leadership is giving control to others based on the competence and clarity of others. It looks something like this.  

First, we give control. That’s the only way we’re going to really know if there’s a competence or clarity gap that we need to help our people fill. And we keep going. However, you might be thinking, “Oh, yeah, Jenni, that’s easy for you to say. I’m responsible if something goes wrong.” 

I totally understand that. I have a very strong bias for keeping control, I struggle with giving control every day. For most of us, it’s a big change. Here’s what I’ve found that works. 

We start by giving just a little control. So a little control, nothing bad happens. People are doing great things, they’re feeling more empowered. I’m feeling good, because I’m getting the benefits of giving control. So I can do it again.  

I give a little more control. Great, nothing bad happened, no mistakes. Keep going. Give a little more control. Oh, now we have a gap. Something went wrong. This is your opportunity as a leader to support your people in filling that competence or clarity gap. And then we keep going. We keep going into this optimal work environment.  

So starting by just giving a little bit of control helps us, as leaders who are maybe struggling with giving up control, with the ability to feel safer around giving control. So start by giving just a little control.  

So the next time you’re feeling a little reluctant about giving control, shrink the change. Start by giving just a little control. I’m Jenny Jepsen with your Leadership Nudge. Let us know how it goes.