Think Again

Me: What do you appreciate most about the leaders you named?
Jeff: They all had vivid visions. They inspired people to achieve
extraordinary things.
Me: Interesting. If Steve Jobs were in your shoes right now, what
do you think he’d do?
Jeff: He’d probably get his leadership team fired up about a bold
idea and create a reality distortion field to make it seem possible.
Maybe I should do that, too.
A few weeks later, Jeff stood up at an executive off-site to deliver his
first-ever vision speech. When I heard about it, I was beaming with pride: I
had conquered my inner logic bully and led him to find his own motivation.
Unfortunately, the board ended up shutting down the company anyway.
Jeff’s speech had fallen flat. He stumbled through notes on a napkin
and didn’t stir up enthusiasm about the company’s direction. I had
overlooked a key step—helping him think about how to execute the change
effectively.
There’s a fourth technique of motivational interviewing, which is often
recommended for the end of a conversation and for transition points:
summarizing. The idea is to explain your understanding of other people’s

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reasons for change, to check on whether you’ve missed or misrepresented
anything, and to inquire about their plans and possible next steps.
The objective is not to be a leader or a follower, but a guide. Miller and
Rollnick liken it to hiring a tour guide in a foreign country: we don’t want
her to order us around, but we don’t want her to follow us around, either. I
was so excited that Jeff had decided to share his vision that I didn’t ask any
questions about what it was—or how he would present it. I had worked
with him to rethink whether and when to give a speech, but not what was in
it.
If I could go back, I’d ask Jeff how he was considering conveying his
message and how he thought his team would receive it. A good guide
doesn’t stop at helping people change their beliefs or behaviors. Our work
isn’t done until we’ve helped them accomplish their goals.