Many leaders like me have a bias for action. When something is wrong we want to fix it right away. Like – NOW.
But there are two sides to a story, and maybe three or five or ten…
I used to act on one side of a story. I guess I was blind to how people see things differently or can purposely twist a story in their favor (or to discredit someone they don’t like). If I acted, then I’d get the other side of the sotry AFTER I acted, I’d feel stupid. I jumped too soon.
I’m better now. I remember those embarrassing situations and I pause before acting to ask more questions and interview more people.
When you hear (bad) news in your company, what do you do?
This just happened to me Friday. I got a panicked call that a supervisor was yelling at another team member in a conference room for all to see. It was 5:30 on a Friday and I was ready to jump in. Instead I hit up her supervisor who looked into it and shared that it was a passionate conversation in which that employee followed up with a heartfelt thank you to the supervisor for her passion and for caring in a way no one else ever has. I’m glad I slowed down and waited and looked at different sides before jumping in. Solid advice LJ.
Be it business or personal, I always keep in mind there are 3 sides to every story – Side A, Side B and the truth somewhere in the middle.
i used to do the same thing. i would react after hearing only one side. now i go through a process of talking to two or three people to hear different perspectives on the situation. it only takes 15-30 minutes and is well worth the time to be sure you have all the information needed to take the next step.