DON’T GIVE ADVICE

As you gain experience with the Votta Exercise and see it start to produce positive results in your own life and career, you may wish to share it with others, whether it be family, friends, or members of your team.
​As a leader, it is so easy to give advice as to what other people should do. In my line of work, I can see actions others could take pretty clearly, and I can even yell at them to take those actions.

But until you, from your own view, see that the action will lead to the result you want, you probably won’t do it. And even if you did, it likely won’t yield the result if you aren’t confident about it. If you are leading others through the exercise, your goal is 100 percent about the person you are coaching. All that matters is that they see it.

For many leaders, it matters that the next generation of leaders—the people who are going to replace us— are empowered and stand on the shoulders of what we have created. I work with many people who aren’t measuring their success by their salaries; they’re mea- suring it based on the legacy they’re leaving behind.

Remember, though, others’ idea of a legacy isn’t necessarily the same as yours. If you tell your team you want them to be empowered, but then all bets are off the moment their idea of empowerment looks different from yours, you can have a disaster on your hands.

Learn more about helping others through The Votta Exercise in my book "Controlling the Pause"!