Good in a Crisis? but, Why?
Too many of us (and I do include myself) are too proud to be “super fixers.” We boast about how good we are in a crisis and how we get s#$t done when it is all on the line. But, what I’d like us to ponder this week is: Is that always a good thing?
Let me share a story from my personal life to illustrate what I mean.
My daughter was turning 16 and had scheduled her driving test for her birthday morning. Obviously, this was a huge deal to her. She needed her social security card in order to take the test but it was nowhere to be found. As we were just days away, we didn’t have enough lead time to get a new one through the mail. Without getting into the gory details, my “super fixer” solution involved hours of working the phones, digital outreach, the pouring-on’s of charm (didn’t work), and activating a member of congress (seriously) to get it done. Boy, was I excited to tell her what a hero her Dad was. But, as I rehearsed the tale in my head on my way to go tell her that she were good to go, I was struck by something which gave me pause.
I thought: Wow, Bruce. You really pulled off a miracle today. Then, I thought: Ya know, Bruce - You sure are great in a crisis, aren’t you?
But, then, a new thought barged into the monologue: You are kind of to blame for the crisis you just so handily solved. Sure, it was a neat trick. But you know what’s also a neat trick, Bruce? Not waiting until it’s too late to locate the required documents for your Daughter’s driving test.
Being productive and keeping cool in crisis is a terrific character trait, but I think the lesson here is to observe it with caution and never confuse it with overall competence. If someone is too proud of being good in a crisis, I might ask them why they’ve had so much practice.
In your business, how are you valuing problem solvers versus problem preemptors?
How many of the crises that you and your team face (and even solve) could have or should have been avoided in the first place?
Is your team so reliant on its problem-solving ability that it is skipping processes that could have avoided the challenges it now faces?
At Chief Seconds, we coach and “corner” teams and individual leaders to be the best professional versions of themselves. Assigning meaning to maximally productive traits and focusing on growth behavior is the critical first step to becoming the leader you want to be and building your ideal team. If you’d like to hear more, all you gotta do is ask. We look forward to the conversation.
Be Well & Talk Soon,
Bruce & Lefty
