In the When in Charge, Take Charge module, we conduct an Ownership Audit, asking teams where they hesitate and what holds them back. Fear of conflict and fear of failure are two of the things we listen for, along with uncertainty about authority or scope of responsibility. A leader who starts asking more questions may wonder whether openness signals hesitation, and whether the authority earned over years will erode each time they look to hear from the floor before deciding.
When I interviewed General Martin Dempsey, the eighteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for The Power of Being All In, I asked what steps he had taken to meet the leadership challenges he saw emerging in the chaos, beginning with the erosion of trust. One of his answers bears directly on this worry: he said successful organizations have had to “become adept at making decisions both faster and more inclusively.”
I interpret this as good news for any leader who worries that asking questions will cost speed or standing. Dempsey puts both in the same sentence.
Taking Charge Is Both a State of Mind and a Set of Behaviors
Taking charge rests on ownership, stepping forward early and accepting the outcome, and on clarity, making sure the team understands the Leader’s Intent: the End State, the Purpose, and the Key Tasks. Presence matters just as much, and in the When in Charge, Take Charge module, listening is one of its five elements, alongside Tactical Patience, which I take up in Decision-Making in the C-Suite: Clarity Over Speed.
What the room is watching is the decision. Decisiveness has to be timely, and timely is a different quality from hurried. Time spent gathering input ahead of a call is thoroughness. What drains trust is the call that never arrives or the meeting that produces another meeting, leaving the question hanging until people work around it.
Build Thoughtful Questions in Advance
Asking Power Questions gets you information you can use.
“What’s the biggest challenge you are facing this week?”
“What one resource do you not have that, if you did, would make you more successful?”
Then use the Leader’s Intent to write down who decides what, including the dollar thresholds, so people can act without lining up at your door for permission. I go deeper on how to draw those lines in Trust Begins With the Leader. You Go First.
On an ordinary Tuesday this is small stuff. You ask three people a question you prepared. You act on the answers within the week and you say where the input came from. Team members begin to see that you are in charge and that their input matters.
This is the everyday shape of All-In Adaptive Leadership and the way a Level Five Culture of Commitment grows. Your authority lives in the quality of your decisions and the steadiness of your presence while you make them, so gather widely, make the calls that are yours to make, and own what follows.
I’d love to hear where you have felt the pull between staying open and holding onto the decision. Leave a comment below and let’s talk about it.
Enjoy the journey!
Check out The All-In Adaptive Leadership Toolbox, where you will find the workbooks, facilitator guides, and workshop materials that go with these articles.
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