WHAT started out as a general cleaning of my son’s room turned into a full-blown makeover. Zhak just started homeschooling and while cleaning his room for the new setup, I realized we needed to upgrade his room so he would enjoy doing his schoolwork. So last Sunday, we spent the morning clearing and cleaning the room, and painting the walls the entire afternoon. And after renovations, I realized there were so many things I learned from him on how to be a better leader.
FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME. When I threw the idea of painting the room, he became so excited that we started looking at different color palettes for his room. We eventually decided to get something in the blue family. When we had prepared all the tools, he wanted to just dive right in and paint. I had to show him that we had to prepare the wall first by sanding and wiping it so the paint would stick to the wall. There has to be a good foundation for the paint; otherwise, it will just peel off. Just like in handling people. As a leader, your role is to prepare your people so that the lessons you hope they learn along the way would stick. If you want people to learn for a lifetime, lay down a good foundation for more lessons. As a leader, our role is to identify what our teams need and provide them the opportunity to reach their potential by giving them the needed coaching and training.
HAVE A VISION IN MIND. After sanding the wall and putting masking tape on the borders, we started painting. Zhak used the rollers to paint the middle parts of the wall while I used a small brush to paint the edges. He was singing to himself when we began but pretty soon, he got tired. And when I saw him looking beat, I asked him what he thought the room would look like after we had finished and he told me all the decorations he would like to put. That helped boost his morale and made him work harder. As leaders, when we remind people of what is in store for them and what they can accomplish, they become motivated and push themselves further. It is just a matter of helping them see a vision of a better version of themselves and their work. It is no wonder that after we painted the room, Zhak started showing me what he wanted to add to his room and the decorations we wanted to install. Similarly, when people have a clear vision, they become invested and it becomes easier for them to contribute to the fulfillment of the vision.
LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE. While painting, there were plenty of paint drips and paint that went outside the masking tape, especially since it was the first time Zhak ever painted a room. But what I also noticed about him was that he was enjoying himself and he was just happy painting. I just reminded him to put pages of newspaper near his area to catch accidental drips. What was important was that he was doing what he sought out to do, and I needed to ensure there were enough safeguards to prevent him from making a mess. As leaders, we need to allow our people to learn as they go about their work and provide enough safeguards so they do not veer away from the main goal. We need to look at the bigger picture and not excessively focus on mistakes which can be easily remedied. As long as people are headed in the right direction, we need to encourage and motivate them as much as we can.
ALLOW PEOPLE TO TAKE OWNERSHIP. Whenever Zhak accidentally dripped paint, he would look at me but I would just tell him to wipe it off with a rag. I told him it was his room anyway so he would not want to have drips of paint all over. And so, he became careful but when he unintentionally dripped paint, he just wiped it off without having to ask me. Since he already knew what to do, he just did it. People in our team are sometimes reluctant to come up with solutions because they think every decision should come from us. But when we empower our teams to see the bigger picture and make decisions for themselves, you give them also the ability to be creative in their problem-solving. This also frees you to focus on managing and leading the whole team rather than focusing on just one person.
TAKE RISKS AND ENJOY THE LEARNING PROCESS. After I showed Zhak how to use the roller and the paint pan, I asked him to repeat the process so I would know if he really understood how to do it so the paint would not drip. He followed my instructions for a time but then did it another way. There were times I allowed him to do as he wanted and then I pointed it out to him why it did not work. He needed to see the results before actually following what I had taught him. When that happens, in painting a room or otherwise, you just have to be patient and let people fail. And when they do, use it as a learning opportunity and not as a means to assert your superiority by saying, “I told you so.” Allow people to take risks but also allow them to save face when things go awry. Our role as leaders is to make people the best version of themselves. And if it means they will make mistakes, then so be it. Everybody has different learning curves. Such mistakes could possibly help them build a better foundation for new lessons later on.
LET PEOPLE PACE THEMSELVES. There were times Zhak would ask for a five-minute break because he said his arms were getting tired. I would tell him to take all the breaks he needed because we had the time anyway. Even with all his excitement, he got tired.
People do get tired. As leaders, we need to give time for people to catch their breath. People work at different paces. Discover your team’s work pace, and allow them to manage their own time as long as they meet agreed deadlines. Understand what you can do to help them meet targets but let them manage their own pace.
The day ended with a sore back and some speckles of paint on the arms and legs. But after seeing the end result, Zhak could only marvel at what we had accomplished. And I could only be glad that the work was finished. More importantly, I was surprised that a daylong activity could yield so many lessons on how to be not only a better person but also be a better people manager.