Welcome

I’m not sure if anyone has been picking up a thread that has been running through the last few newsletters? Guesses on a postcard and the winner will receive a free coaching call and a bottle of champagne…see below for that winner 😁

That topic has been trust.

I have been covering:

• My LEAD+M Framework

• Mental Health as a leader

• Mental Health within the team

• Psychological Safety

The one thing that runs through all these is that there are tips and guidance for you as a leader to look at how you can build trust effectively. The reason I talk about this a lot is that for a couple of reasons.

When I first started getting into leadership positions I read Patrick Lencioni’s book called the Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Within this he covers the five areas that leaders need to be paying attention and focusing on as they develop. The first of that or the base of that pyramid is trust.

Without trust teams can’t operate or even function at all. Worth thinking about if you are part of a team that isn’t operating well and have a lack of deep trust that will come about from the ways of working and team behaviours. The most important of which will be belittling or talking about each other but not dealing with the issues.

Secondly I have worked in a team that had no trust. I can tell you that:

1. I wasn’t there very long

2. Growth was limited

3. Business was stalling

4. Everyone blamed each other

And so for me I will continue to educate leaders on the importance of building trust within teams in anyway that I can.

So today let’s look at how empowering your team to take ownership and drive decisions will help in building deeper trust with your team.

Why this matters

You may be thinking why this is important? Well empowered decision-making is a key ingredient of high-performing teams. When team members are trusted to make decisions, they’re more likely to feel invested in the team’s success and motivated to give their best. Empowering decision-making also leads to:

• Greater Engagement: When employees have a say in the decisions that affect their work, they feel more connected to their roles and motivated to contribute meaningfully.

• Enhanced Innovation: Empowering your team to make decisions encourages diverse perspectives and creative solutions, leading to innovation and growth.

• Stronger Team Ownership: When team members are trusted to make calls and take action, they take more ownership of outcomes, leading to better accountability and satisfaction.

Tips for making this happen

Here are some practical strategies to help you empower decision-making within your team:

1. Delegate Decision-Making Authority, Not Just Tasks

   • Tip: When delegating, give team members not only the task but also the authority to make decisions on how to complete it. This autonomy allows them to learn, take responsibility, and develop problem-solving skills.

   • Example: If you delegate a project, let your team member decide on the approach or timeline rather than prescribing every detail. Be available for guidance, but resist the urge to micromanage.

2. Set Clear Boundaries and Guidelines

   • Tip: While autonomy is essential, setting boundaries helps prevent confusion and ensures decisions align with team goals. Be clear about which decisions they have authority over and where they need to check in with you.

   • Example: For a project, you might outline the overall objective and budget, but leave the steps and tactics to the team member’s discretion.

3. Encourage Calculated Risk-Taking

   • Tip: Empowered decision-making involves being comfortable with risks. Encourage your team to try new approaches and remind them that mistakes are part of the learning process.

   • Example: When a team member proposes an innovative idea, support their effort—even if there’s a chance it might not work. Emphasize that learning from attempts, whether successful or not, is valuable.

4. Model Decision-Making Behavior

   • Tip: Show your team how you make decisions by explaining your thought process during team discussions. When they see how you weigh options and consider outcomes, they’ll feel more confident doing the same.

   • Example: When making a team-related decision, walk them through your reasoning—what factors you considered and why you reached that decision. This not only clarifies your expectations but also teaches them a framework for decision-making.

5. Provide Ongoing Support and Check-Ins

   • Tip: Let your team know that support is available if needed. Empowerment doesn’t mean abandoning them; it means providing resources, guidance, and feedback as they learn.

   • Example: Schedule regular check-ins on key projects to provide input, but allow the team to lead these updates. This way, they maintain ownership while knowing they have your support.

Use my LEAD+M

The LEAD+M framework provides a helpful structure for empowering decision-making. Here’s how each element applies:

• Lead by demonstrating the decision-making behaviors you expect. Show transparency, stay open to input, and be willing to share how you arrive at conclusions.

• Engage by involving team members in decisions that affect them. Encourage them to contribute their ideas and insights, especially when setting team goals or planning projects.

• Act with Purpose by aligning decisions with team and organizational objectives. Guide your team to consider how each decision serves the bigger picture.

• Develop decision-making skills by providing resources, training, and mentorship. Encourage continuous learning by allowing your team to take on decision-making responsibilities gradually.

• Mental Health by preventing decision fatigue. Avoid overloading your team with decision-making responsibilities by being mindful of workloads and mental health.

Questions to encourage empowerment

Empowering your team also means guiding them to think critically about their decisions. Use these questions to foster ownership and thoughtful decision-making:

1. “What options are you considering, and what are the potential outcomes of each?”

   • Encourages them to think through possibilities and evaluate consequences.

2. “What resources or information do you need to make this decision confidently?”

   • Shows that you’re there to support them, and helps them identify any gaps in knowledge.

3. “How does this decision align with our team’s overall goals?”

   • Helps connect daily decisions to broader objectives, reinforcing purposeful decision-making.

4. “What are the risks involved, and how would you mitigate them?”

   • Encourages risk assessment and proactive problem-solving.

5. “What would success look like for this decision, and how will we measure it?”

   • Helps them define clear, measurable outcomes, which is essential for tracking progress and evaluating results.

Closing Remarks

Hopefully having gone through this weeks topic of looking at decision making but more importantly how you empower those in your team to make decisions you can start to see how this will help you to build deeper trust within your team.

You will also see that by empowering decision making you will see that they will come to you less for making decisions but keeping you informed. Which is what you would want to see.

Good luck in empowering your teams and getting them empowered to make decisions and take ownership.

Keep me posted with how things go, I love hearing from my readers and how the guidance provided has helped them.

Book of the week

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by David Marquet.

Overview:

Turn the Ship Around! tells the story of Captain David Marquet’s experience transforming the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear submarine, from one of the lowest-performing ships in the U.S. Navy to one of the highest. Marquet’s approach was revolutionary—he empowered his crew to take ownership of decisions and responsibilities rather than following traditional top-down orders. The book offers practical insights into creating a team of leaders who think independently, make confident decisions, and take accountability for their actions.

Marquet’s “leader-leader” model encourages a culture where everyone is empowered to make decisions, which aligns perfectly with the principles of creating empowered teams.

3 Key Takeaways for New Leaders:

1. Move from “Leader-Follower” to “Leader-Leader”

   • What it Means: Instead of giving direct orders, Marquet adopted a “leader-leader” approach where each crew member was given the autonomy to make decisions within their role. This shift empowered every team member to think critically, act confidently, and take responsibility for their choices.

   • Actionable Tip: Encourage your team to express their intentions rather than waiting for orders. For example, instead of telling them exactly how to proceed, ask them to share their plan: “Tell me what you intend to do and why.” This builds accountability and decision-making skills.

2. Push Authority to Where the Information Is

   • What it Means: Decisions are best made by those closest to the work because they have the most relevant information. By pushing decision-making authority down to the lowest competent level, Marquet helped his team make more accurate and timely decisions.

   • Actionable Tip: Give team members the authority to make decisions on the projects they manage. Provide guidance on decision boundaries, but allow them to take ownership, which leads to quicker, more effective decision-making.

3. Create a Culture of Continuous Learning

   • What it Means: Marquet fostered a culture of improvement by encouraging his team to learn from every decision, whether it led to success or failure. This continuous learning empowered the crew to refine their skills and build confidence.

   • Actionable Tip: Hold regular retrospectives where the team reflects on what worked well, what didn’t, and how they can improve. This not only builds skills but also reinforces that every decision is a learning opportunity.

Well ladies and gentlemen that is a wrap for this week. I hope that you have one thing that you can apply to the coming week

Have a great week.

PS If you enjoyed this content and just started out leading; you will find my First 90 days free email course really helpful. Get it here

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PPPS And the quiz winner is….wait until next week…