— To follow is a bullet of wisdom on leadership. It comes from Tom’s rifle, named Shot, who has seen it all. You’ll get the drift by clicking Blog in the menu at www.tomnewhouse.com. —
EVERY HUNTING ACCIDENT HAS ASSUMPTIONS. “I assumed the chamber was empty.” “I assumed he would check the safety switch.” “I figured there was nobody downfield.” “I reckoned I could get off one more shot.” Well, too many times us rifles have to say, “I reckon he’s dead.”
For leaders, assumptions also kill, but the right ones can give life. Let me explain. First, I’ll remind you that you’re the leader; thus, your role is to maximize others’ effectiveness. Steps: 1. Help them get past a killing assumption like, I’m not smart enough, I lack sufficient experience, this problem can only be solved by those at a higher pay grade. Those are just examples; the possibilities are without end. Ask questions (do not tell or manipulate) to let the other expose an assumption. 2. Turn the assumption you hear on its face with another question. Like this: If you were smart in this area, what might you do? If you were experienced, what do you suppose would come to mind? If you were in charge, how would you go about things? These are examples of life-giving assumptions.