Being Right is Overrated

G.T. Toby Stansell

G.T. Toby Stansell

— 1 min read
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You sit in a meeting and listen to a member of your team propose a solution. You see a "better" way. You are about to interrupt to correct the path and ensure the result is perfect.

Stop.

Your need to be right is a bottleneck in your company. When you spent years building a business from nothing, your intuition was a survival tool. Now, it might be a growth killer.

"You can do the 'right' thing at the wrong time or in the wrong way… and the result will be worse than having done nothing at all."

— Chapter 6 "Being Right Is Overrated" from The Winding Road to Excellence

Every time you "fix" a problem for your team, you are unknowingly demoralizing them. You are teaching them that their best effort will always be second-guessed.

Over time, they stop bringing you solutions and start bringing you questions. You become the Chief Problem Solver, trapped in the weeds of a business that cannot grow past your own bandwidth.

GET TO THE POINT

To move from survival to excellence, you must master the art of stepping back. Use these tests next week:

ASSESS RISK
Is this a fatal error? If the mistake won't bankrupt the company or ruin a primary client relationship, stay silent.
80% THRESHOLD
If their plan is 80% as effective as yours, the extra 20% of "rightness" you provide is offset by the 100% loss of their engagement.
FIVE MAGIC WORDS
When your team presents a viable plan, look them in the eye and say: "Let’s do it your way."

This builds confidence and gives you the space to lead, rather than carrying everyone’s packs.

How many times this week did you correct a team member on a trivial issue?

In your corner,

Toby Stansell
Managing Partner

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