Which Business Leadership Style are You? Coach or Surgeon

More leadership from Bobb Biehl. By the way, you should be grabbing all his content you can.

Transcript of Video

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what is your natural leadership style

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you might want to underline natural

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because there’s a certain style you have

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of leading today that may not be your

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natural style at all I’d like to help

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you discover what is your natural style

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as compared to maybe what you’re using

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and if you’re using your natural style

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how do you maximize that but there are

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basically only two styles of leading

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that I’ve seen that I would distinguish

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for you and all the leaders I’ve worked

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with you get two basic styles and the

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styles are these you’ve basically got a

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surgeon style over here and a coaching

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style over here and you may think well I

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think I’m somewhere in between those as

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I begin describing what they are or how

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they work

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you may think I’m sort of in-between I

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say no you’re not you can operate in

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between you may be forced or it may be

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appropriate for you to operate in

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between or you may be operating in

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between because of someone you’ve

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watched or modeled after but you are one

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of the other I’ll help you see what you

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are and how to maximize it

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neither of these styles are good or bad

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right or wrong they’re both we’ve had

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you can have presidents of your nation

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and either either side but they’re very

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very different I’m not trying to teach

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you to be one or the other

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what I’m trying to do is help you

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understand what you are and how to

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maximize that and what some of the if

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you will some of it may be the downsides

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of your what you have to be aware of in

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your style and sort of how to understand

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the style of those that you report to if

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any and those on your staff if you

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report to it or your colleagues it just

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helps you have eyes to see the important

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role leadership style plays and how

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effectively you can do

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with a group of people by the way you

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have experienced probably by this age

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where you’ve got a pastor with a

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leadership style when he leaves in comes

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a second pastor with a totally different

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leadership style and the whole staff is

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gone or it’s like the whole the whole

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it’s it’s a shock to the congregation

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how this new person leads because it’s

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totally different in an organization at

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church at corporation let me let me

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explain what a what each of these how

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they each operate a surgeon style leads

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by doing this person leads by doing now

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there was a surgeon leads in your life

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by operating on you there are team

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builders they’re both team builders both

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a surgeon and the coach or team builders

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but they build teams very very

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differently the surgeon builds a team

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around his or her strengths there is the

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surgeon is there they’re the star player

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that of the situation and they build a

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surgical nurse an anesthesiologist etc

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they build a team around their strength

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whereas the coach never puts on the

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helmet or the cleats or the are they

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uniform simply stands on the sidelines

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and make sure every net one else is

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doing what they’re supposed to do they

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lead by directing

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totally different now the surgeon is

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like a plane coach sometimes in football

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you have if you’re familiar football

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sometimes you have a or a basketball

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even sometimes you if you’re short a

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coach and you get a good player the

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coach will actually play in the game

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they’ll actually play a part in the game

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that play a position and they’re the

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coach at the same time it’s like a plane

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coach they’ll build a team around their

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unique strengths now let me show you

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this if you give a surgeon style leader

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a team of corporate vice presidents they

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tend to see them as personal assistants

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it’s like how do you operate around my

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strength and so they will see all of

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these people as sort of personal

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assistants rather than the coaching

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style who see if you if you give them

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five personal assistants they will see

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them as vice president so to speak

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but talking about the surgeon right now

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for a minute there is a keyword if you

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are a surgeon style leader there is a

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certain word you really need to

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understand about yourself if you’re

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reporting to a surgeon style leader you

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really need to understand this one word

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and that word is trust a surgeon style

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leader divides their entire staff and

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the people I trust I don’t trust and I

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don’t know yet and they draw a line and

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that line is anyone below the trust line

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meaning I trust them they abdicate what

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I mean by abdicate is that I had one

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client who saw people reporting directly

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to them but they only had reporting

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about once a year they didn’t have

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regular meetings that unit mean another

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name bill bright the founder of Campus

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Crusade for Christ and now name is Kru

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and he had a person reporting to him you

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may know the name know the name Josh

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McDowell

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well Josh reported directly to Bill

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bright but here’s the way it would go at

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the annual conference he said Josh you

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remember you report directly to me right

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yeah I do bill great see you next year

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Dennis Rainey head of the family

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ministry you report directly to me you

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know that dentist yep see you next year

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you know it’s like that was all the

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reporting they did they he had basically

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abdicated them because he trusted them

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totally he simply gave it to them and

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said see you next year you may say how

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irresponsible I say part of the genius

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of the movement is he chose people he

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trusted and let him do it and if the

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whole thing grew now that’s not the only

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reason but it’s like there’s a certain

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sense in which he let them develop their

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own organizations all of it’s still

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reported to crew and pay the fee to crew

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I see it was that wrong I don’t think so

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it was a stylistic judgment call with

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people he trusted now some of you feel

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very micro managed am i incorrect how

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many in here feel like at some point in

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their life they’ve been micromanaged

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you know micromanagement is you’ve never

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been micromanaged wow that’s amazing

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micromanagement is when someone tells

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you exactly what to do everything

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everything to do and then they give you

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something doing then they tell you how

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to do it here’s what I want you do well

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here’s how to do micromanage now now

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that you understand sort of what it is

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how many have been micromanaged is it

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only three or four okay a little bit

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more anyone that you’re reporting to

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where you’re not trusted there there’s

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no trust up here you’re too new or they

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don’t trust you they will this person

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will micromanage you period this person

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won’t tend to micromanage you at all

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this person will always micromanage you

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until they trust you but there’s a

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there’s a certain phase in which it’ll

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drive you crazy and that is the if the

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surgeon style leader doesn’t know

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whether they trust you or not right

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there they’ll abdicate it to you and

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three days later will micromanage you

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and it drives you crazy you don’t know

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whether they’re it’s yours or not

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because they said it was yours but then

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they’re telling you how to do it that is

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what really drives people crazy right

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there now the the surgeon style has

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meetings as needed see you next year

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once I think it’s time to have a meeting

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they have meetings as needed and the

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assumption that the surgeon style leader

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makes is I’m strong enough that I can

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cover any mistakes the team makes

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therefore frankly I can hire weaker

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people then this person would hire this

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person actually hires stronger people

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this person thinks I’m strong enough

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that if if they don’t know quite what to

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do I’ll take over and get it done now

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let’s talk about the coaching style the

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coaching style is the sidelines coach

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not the playing coach they stand on the

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sidelines and make sure that the team

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has got what they need the uniforms the

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plays etc they build the on-field team

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not around their strengths but they

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build the on team field

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on-field team they basically their focus

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is delegation not abdication or

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micromanagement their focus is

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delegating properly balancing expertise

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and freedom in other words they

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basically take people get them their

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expertise right in here they get the

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expert in each of these areas and give

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them freedom to do what they’re going to

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do however they have regular meetings to

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make sure it’s happening but it isn’t

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micromanaging it’s simply reporting in

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how’s it going what do you need from me

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it’s a regular reporting process more

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and then but this person needs an all

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green team this person you have some

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greens the surgeon has some greens some

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were yellow some Reds that they if they

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have to this person needs an all green

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team because they’re not going to put on

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the helmet and come play theirs if they

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don’t have the best strongest team on

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the field they know they’re not going to

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win the game so they need an all green

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team because I’m not coming on the field

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of play now you may think well who would

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these people rather report to would they

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rather report to

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a coaching style leader or a surgeon

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style leader the coaching style says all

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right

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basically I’ll give it to you but if you

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don’t do it right I’ll fire you or I’ll

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yell at you and then fire you it’s

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basically the thing here it’s like it’s

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your job you get it done or I’ll yell at

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you and then I’ll fire you or I’ll fire

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you you’re not yellow I’ll fire you

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this person is their approach is more

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you take it and if you can’t handle it

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I’ll take over until we’re at a place

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where you can handle it again then I

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give it back to you now you can function

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in either style everyone room can

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function either style but you don’t have

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a preference for either style because

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what you do is you to see which style

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you really prefer you look actually at

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your backup style you look at what do

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you do under extreme pressure let me

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show you what each of these do under

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extreme pressure now I’d quickly point

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out if there is not extreme pressure if

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there’s just pressure both sides will

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try to coach the team there’s this

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person will coach the team before they

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really before it gets really extreme

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pressure and this person will coach the

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team meaning they’ll try to teach the

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team how to play it better etc like if

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you’re in the second quarter of the game

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at four quarters and you’re a little bit

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behind this head coach will call you up

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and say hey defensive coach you know you

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really need to do it this way or

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something like that but in the in the

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end of the game when it’s the Super Bowl

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or it’s the World Cup or it’s that

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whatever it is and it’s the last minute

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or two and that’s going to decide the

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World Cup or the Super Bowl under

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extreme pressure you’ve got a hundred

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thousand fans cheering or during or

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booing and you got the ring and you got

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the cup and you got bonuses and you got

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everything on the line it’s a tie game

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and you’re down to the last two minutes

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these styles operate very differently

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basically if the defensive unit is

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caving in the defensive unit isn’t

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working and this person is leading the

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defensive coordinator this is the head

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coach it doesn’t get coaching it doesn’t

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get teaching it doesn’t get pretty the

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head coach comes to the defensive coach

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and says Wow coach I’m taking over

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hey Smith get in there it’s like he just

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takes over in the last two minutes how’s

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that wrong no it’s just that’s the style

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and you know if it’s you whether you

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take over or not but if you’re the

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coaching style you don’t take over

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you don’t take over the defense what you

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do is download the D fund that download

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the pressure you say look Smith if you

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can’t get your job to get this defense

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stopped if you can’t stop you haven’t

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got a job next year is that clear now

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get that defense stuff you’re hired you

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stop them not me now get them stop are

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you’re fired

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let’s get them stopped it’s like okay

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you know but I’m saying the the one

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takes over and the other one downloads

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the pressure now neither one of those is

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pretty but which do you do if it gets

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under extreme pressure which do you do

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that decides which of these is your

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preferred style I say as I said earlier

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you may be a coaching style forced to

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operate this way based on something or

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you may be a surgeon style forced to

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operate this way in your environment or

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based on the modeling you’ve seen or

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whatever but which is your natural style

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which do you do under extreme pressure

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that’s your natural style now how do you

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get comfortable saying all right you

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know what I’ve been trying to be you

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know play it like my dad played it or my

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uncle played it or the first pastor I

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had played it

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enough of that I’m gonna leave the team

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the way lead teams if you’re over here

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you say you know what I’m gonna meet

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with these people once a week because

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they need it and I’m not gonna ask these

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people to come to meetings anymore for a

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while I’m gonna micromanage these people

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without being accused if people accuse

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me of being a micromanager so be it I do

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micromanage sorry these people I’m going

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to tell them I don’t know yet whether

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you’re the right person for the job or

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not

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by the way let me stop right here and

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give you a word that’s a magic word and

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that it doesn’t sound like a magic word

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but it is it’s the word fit right here

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is the almost the word of the decade for

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me what I mean by that is this whenever

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you’re interviewing someone for a

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position you don’t want to say am i

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trying to hire this person you’re trying

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to say what I’m trying to figure out is

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this a good fit is this a good fit for

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you he’s a good fit for us is it it is

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is it fit because if you don’t fit here

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we want to have you move your family

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across the county clear across the

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continent to work here only to find out

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it isn’t a good fit when you go to fire

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someone you say you know you’re an

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amazing person you got tremendous

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strengths but you know what it isn’t a

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good fit for you here and I don’t want

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to keep you in a position where it isn’t

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a good fit that word fit helps in so

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many areas you don’t want to lose track

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of that because what you’re trying to do

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is make sure that it’s a good fit for

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every person on your team but you

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basically say I’m trying to figure out

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whether you’re the right fit right now

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and I don’t know whether you know to

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basically abdicate it to you or

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micromanage you but right now you’re

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gonna have to put up a little

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micromanaging because I don’t know yet

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over here you say you know what I’ve

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been trying to do it this way trying to

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take over if they fumble the ball or

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whatever right now I’m going to start

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moving to my natural style which is

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finding the best person every position

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leave a position empty

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if I have to because better no one than

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the wrong line this tends to say better

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anyone then no one because better anyone

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as long as they’re sort of qualified I

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can fill in what they need this one

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tends to say better no one than the

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wrong one I say if this is you but you

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get to where you’re comfortable saying

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look I’m not gonna play the game now let

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me say let me point this out in a small

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church a small organization we’re just

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getting started in a startup phase you

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almost have to do it this way because

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you don’t have people to put on the team

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you have to sort of fill in and make do

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and sort of run it there was if you’re

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here by nature you can come over here

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and just run it half yourself and all

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that kind of stuff Phil you know for a

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while to get it up and going but if this

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is you starting today move toward you’ve

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got these positions defined you get the

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best person you can possibly get in here

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you have your regular meetings you relax

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with the fact that you’re not going to

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suit up but you’re there to make sure

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everyone else has the right suit the

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great equipment the right plays they

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understand it’s like the team is doing

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what they’re supposed to do even though

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you don’t do anything

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you

The post Which Business Leadership Style are You? Coach or Surgeon was originally published on: Moon & Owl Marketing