ActionCOACH Southern Indiana

Being Right vs. Getting it Right

If you are at the point where you are delegating higher level tasks and assignments to your managers and some of the results aren’t what you are looking for, it could be that your managers are simply trying too hard to BE RIGHT instead of focusing on GETTING IT RIGHT.

As an owner or leader, you can probably relate to this, as many of you have successfully worked through “I Can Do It Better” syndrome, which is a close cousin of “Be Right” syndrome. As your team’s leader, this is where you can step in and help by making a simple course correction with them.  You see, the natural tendency of someone taking on new responsibility is to overdo taking ownership of their new responsibilities, and they overcompensate by trying to prove how RIGHT they can be.  The result is usually predictable, as the GET IT WRONG in the process of BEING RIGHT.

Get Over the Vanity of Being Right

Being right feels good, but it’s a temptation that can lead us down the wrong path. When training a new leader, or delegating a new level of Responsibility and Accountability, be sure to teach them the importance of GETTING IT RIGHT over the vanity of BEING RIGHT.  Teach them how true leaders leverage the strengths of their team to get it right, so that they do not have the burden of always having to be right. 

Get Over the Fear of Being Wrong

It’s natural to worry that you’re doing the wrong thing or that you’ll make a mistake. When worry and fear take over your decision making, it will hamper your results. Help your managers see that it’s OK if there are bumps along the way. Acknowledge that mistakes will happen, and that’s alright.

Change “I know” to “Isn’t that Interesting”

If you’ve heard me speak, you’re familiar with this concept. When you think you know it all, you lose out on opportunities to learn. Teach your managers to reframe the way they listen to people, by dropping the “I know” and swapping it with “Isn’t that interesting.” Teach them to ask good questions and be curious. When they open themselves up to learning and understanding, they have a much better chance of Getting It Right.

When all is said and done, being right doesn’t matter if you’re not getting it right.

Author: Mark McNulty