Off You Go Then…
Earlier this week, Annmarie and I were preparing to welcome a brand-new cohort to another Lead the Way programme with Aviva in Perth.
We really enjoy working together and we’d taken a wee bit of time to prepare a plan for the session by dividing up the sections and agreed who would lead each part.
Everything was organised, or so we thought. 
As the session began, Annmarie and I stood at the front of the room and looked at one another.
There was a brief pause.
“Off you go,” I thought.
But she didn’t start.
Instead, she looked back at me with a slightly quizzical expression, which I interpreted as her perhaps needing a little encouragement.
So, I gave her what I imagined was a wonderfully supportive leadership signal: a gentle tilt of the head, raised eyebrows and an encouraging look that clearly said, “You’ve got this.”
Still, she hesitated.
Eventually, I added the words: “Off you go then.”
And off she went.
She welcomed the group, introduced the session and got us underway nicely. Nobody in the room appeared to notice that anything unusual had happened.
A few minutes later, during a short break, Annmarie leaned towards me with a big smile and whispered:
“You were supposed to start… Check the plan.”
Naturally, I did and she was right! I hadn’t checked the plan carefully enough!
We laughed about it and carried on. No harm was done, the session had begun well, and in fact, the little incident probably helped us to relax as we started working with a new group.
It was a small moment, quickly forgotten by everyone else, but a useful reminder for us.
The Leadership Lesson
In leadership and coaching, we can easily assume that a plan, a look or a subtle hint has made everything clear.
Sometimes it has. Sometimes it really hasn’t.
Often, the warmest and most helpful thing we can do is simply ask the question rather than rely on raised eyebrows and hopeful head tilts – although that can be fun too!
Where might one simple clarifying question prevent a bigger misunderstanding for you this week?
