Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody

This is a little story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

I have always seen my role as a leader to be a combination of a coach, cheerleader and a brutally honest mirror to those around me. Someone who holds them accountable, gives concrete feedback and thus helps them improve. Of course feedback is a two-way street – I also need to be open to critical feedback and ready to change and grow.

One of the consistent areas where I see myself providing feedback is around initiative and ownership. This story above is a quintessential challenge most employees face: that of waiting for leadership to be handed to us.

I follow a golden rule: if someone brings up an issue, that person gets to solve it. After all she/he was passionate enough to bring up the issue in the first place!

Over time you can get one of two behaviors: that people stop bringing problems your way or that they start to think of solutions before coming your way.

So, which one is it for your teams?