In the Woods

She was probably 10 years old wearing a sundress, flip flops, a camelback water system backpack, and riding a child sized mountain bike in the woods – and without a helmet.  She pulled off to the side of the trail to let me go by.  I asked if she was ok.  She said, “I am ok and I know what I am doing”.  Her story was that her dad was coming right behind her.  She was expecting to go to the beach but didn’t know their plans had changed until she was a picked up.   She had been to the park before and knew her way.  I offered to ride with her until her dad caught up to her, but she didn’t want any help.  I told her it might be a good idea to stop a little up the trail at a rest spot and wait until her dad caught up.

I got back on my bike and continued – but still was bothered that she was alone even though it was a popular trail that would loop back to the parking lot.  I talked to a couple of other faster riders were passing me and they had seen her as well.  They were going to make a second loop and check on her and look to see if there was a parent looking for their child. 

It had a happy ending, but not until a couple of riders went back out after finding her puzzled dad at the beginning of the trail.  Talking with the dad I found out the young girl had overestimated her skill and knowledge and assumed support was close.  The father assumed she would stay close and she was prepared (even though he underestimated the importance of a helmet, shoes, and tighter clothing).

Chances are that you have probably seen something similar to this in the workplace.  A new staff member starts, the supervisor makes some assumptions based on their past experiences, and the new person doesn’t want to ask questions or take advice.  Suddenly (or not so suddenly) a preventable situation occurs.  The new person feels embarrassed, the supervisor has a woulda-coulda-shoulda moment, and the ripple effect continues for a while.

How does a leader prevent something like this from happening?

1. Meet often with new team members.  It gives the opportunity to intentionally connect, build a relationship, establish trust, and facilitate conversation.
2. Be clear on objectives what success will look like when the job is done well.
3. Ask open ended questions.  Explore situations with them and have them assess what they see.  Ask them do describe their plans and what they will be doing next.  Ask them to assess the progress and what might need to be adjusted.  Ask questions that will help them sustain success they find.
4. Debrief tasks and projects and celebrate successes.  They need to know what when the target is hit.