Tiny Leaders, Big Lessons: Unpacking Assumptions And Understanding Context.
Recently, while visiting preschools with our youngest, I stumbled upon a leadership lesson in its cutest form. Witnessing how a seemingly straightforward situation unfolded offered valuable insights into the complexities of leading, especially when dealing with limited information.
We were touring a preschool, and after the usual classroom briefing, we were allowed to observe the children playing. Firstly, let me disclose that the teacher guiding us had well-meaning intentions to create a safe and harmonious learning environment, and like all of us in the work of leadership, assumptions got in the way.
When suddenly, a 4-year-old boy rushed up to her, claiming that a child (he pointed towards) ‘had my watering can’. Without complete context, the teacher quickly intervened, requesting his watering can be returned. The child holding the watering can was visibly surprised. As the teacher moved on, I overheard the accused child whisper to a friend in a curious tone, "I thought all the toys at preschool were for sharing?" Her friend, also looking confused, replied, "They are!? It is not his watering can. He had it for a long time and didn’t let anyone else have a turn."
This exchange revealed an important leadership lesson: limited information can lead to flawed assumptions and confusing leadership messages. The teacher, despite good intentions, lacked the full picture and ultimately discouraged sharing rather than facilitating it.
This experience mirrored similar situations I've encountered in leadership teams at work. Particularly if you are in a position of authority, as you saw from the two children whispering about the injustice in the playground, most people won’t challenge the view of authority, and I can assure you that is as true in executive rooms as it was in this preschool.
How Do We Avoid Assumptions & Better Understand The Context?
Here are some leadership strategies I was reminded of from this tiny leader encounter:
Lead with questions: Approach situations with an open mind and gather information through questions. Ask questions to understand the background context. When someone comes to you will a firm conclusion (or their story as I like to think of it) be curious as to how they formed their view, and what did they considered or not consider.
Seek multiple perspectives: Don't rely solely on one viewpoint. Seek diverse perspectives to gain a clearer understanding of the context. Think about who else might have a view or how others might be impacted in the context and be sure to get those perspectives early.
Be guided by purpose: Align your actions with your core principles. Ask yourself, "What am I trying to achieve?" In any leadership situation there are many possible actions, your purpose in a given context may be the most useful guide to choosing what you do and preventing the unintended negative implications that often occur when we react without clarity of purpose.
Anticipate and plan: Proactively prepare and create conditions to prevent challenges where possible. Anticipation is a leadership superpower, forecasting potential issues and planning for how to navigate them, with maximum value for all stakeholders and minimum negative implications. When we are caught in reacting we often fail to do this well and create more problems than we solve.
This experience, delivered by a tiny leader, serves as a crucial reminder – effective leadership hinges upon understanding the bigger picture, to effectively navigate leadership, it's critical to ensure you understand the context you are operating within.
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