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Brain Circuits
Are you caught in the insider trap?
The strengths that propelled you into the power circle may now be holding you back as a leader. Jing Yan has devised a simple test to find out if it’s time for a reset
Executives often become less available to people as more demands are made on their time and as they play for higher stakes. This comes with consequences:
- Stalled innovation: stifling of ideas and discouragement of risk-taking.
- Loss of inclusivity: a lack of new voices and diverse perspectives.
- Confirmation bias: thinking you already have enough information to make important decisions.
- Clique formation: relying on a favored few can lead to an in-group versus out-group dynamic, causing resentment and mistrust.
- Poor team dynamics: “outsiders” are likely to become demotivated and disenchanted.
- Groupthink: leads to reduced critical questioning.
- Blindness to risks: inability to recognize when a team is not performing, or a project is failing.
Checklist for leaders
On a scale of 1 to 5, answer the following:
- □ Are you finding it harder to accelerate innovation or drive change?
- □ Does your team seem less motivated than when you started?
- □ Are your proposals and decisions generally met with instant unanimity?
- □ Are dissenting views seldom heard around the table?
- □ Are you interacting with an increasingly small circle?
- □ Are you allocating resources to the same people?
- □ Are fewer people approaching you with problems (and solutions)?
What your score says about your leadership style
7–14: You’re still the person you were when you became leader. Keep the lines of communication open!
15–25: Sounds like you’ve become less accessible. Try to get out more and connect with people outside the inner sanctum.
26–35: A full style reset is needed. Check out these tips on escaping the insider trap and staying on top of your game:
Identify individuals who dare to tell you what they really think, and seek out opinions from people you don’t know, rather than the usual suspects.
Strengthen relationships with external partners
Invite collaboration and alliances with suppliers, contractors, and other stakeholders from your industry and outside it. Try setting up cross-functional workshops and adopting unified collaborative platforms such as Slack and Asana.
Set collaborative goals
Establish common, measurable goals for internal teams and external partners to align agendas and foster the sense that “we’re all in this together”.
Implement feedback loops
Set up formal, two-way feedback channels. Make sure to ask, “How am I doing?”, so people know that what they think matters to you.
Build trust
Foster a shared sense of purpose and psychological safety, encouraging people to exchange ideas freely both in-house and outside the organization. Provide open access to information and resources.
Canvass ‘outsider’ views
Broaden your formal and informal network by reaching out to people of all levels. Identify individuals who dare to tell you what they really think, and seek out opinions from people you don’t know, rather than the usual suspects. This will help you break out of the information silo of small circles.
Promote an open-house culture
Hold team-building events and informal social gatherings to build rapport and develop connections – and make sure to show up to events.
The attributes and approaches that elevated executives to leadership positions do not always translate well to management, especially if it means spending more time in the top circle and less time with their teams. Avoiding this insider trap, and the risks that go with it, requires a rethink of how you lead and behave at work.
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