Redefining and Simplifying Leadership

Dan Sullivan is the co-founder of Strategic Coach, an entrepreneurial coaching company he formed with his wife and business partner, Babs Smith, over 30 years ago. Dan has been coaching entrepreneurs for over 44 years. To be a member of Strategic Coach at the entry-level is a $10,000 investment.

I started learning about Dan Sullivan around five years ago (2015). I was a first-year Ph.D. student at Clemson University. I had dreams and ambitions of working for myself while applying what I was learning in my I/O (Industrial and Organizational) psychology program. Of course, at the time, I was making approximately $13,000/year as a graduate research assistant and didn't yet even have a business. But over the next few years, I read and listened to everything I could access from Dan.

Before graduating with my Ph.D., I joined Strategic Coach and developed a relationship with Dan. I loved his thinking and ideas so much that I felt compelled to write a book with him.

Who Not How was published by Hay House Business and just released last week. As someone who has been studying motivation, leadership, and team dynamics for the past 10 years, here's some of what you can learn from this book, and why Dan's thinking is so innovative:

The Public Education System Is Based on "How"

The public education system, specifically in America, trains students to focus on "how" and also to be highly competitive. By focusing on "how," what I mean is that each student is expected to learn the same skills and then is rated against their peers based on how they test.

In other words, the public education system is competitive, not collaborative. Rather than allowing students to develop their own unique interests and then working with others, each student is required to do all the "hows" themselves. Working in isolation.

Working with other children or asking for help can often be viewed as "cheating" in the public education model, even though it's the exact opposite in the business world.

Procrastination Is "Wisdom"

Research shows that approximately 90 percent of college students are chronic procrastinators. Moreover, research shows that procrastination leads to loss of self-worth and confidence. Yet, according to Dan, procrastination is actually wisdom. When you procrastinate, it means you have something you want to accomplish, but you lack the skills or knowledge to get it done.

Rather than asking yourself, "How do I do this?" as many have been trained to ask when trying to accomplish a goal, Dan trains his entrepreneurs to ask, "Who can help me with this?" or even, "Who can do this for me?"

We live in a highly individualistic culture that prizes hard work and effort. And although hard work and effort are important, it is not essential to try doing everything yourself. In fact, it is ineffective. Rather than asking "How?", if you asked "Who?" you could immediately begin creating teamwork in your life.

According to the Self-Expansion Model, each person has "potential efficacy." Efficacy is the ability to produce results and is based on the resources one has to put toward their goals. Resources come through relationships and come in many forms: knowledge, relationships, money, etc.

In other words, our potential as people is not innate and self-contained, but contextual and relational, based on who we are in a relationship with. By teaming up with other people, you can immediately utilize their resources toward your goals, and vice versa.

Eliminate Decision Fatigue and Create More Flow States

Research is clear that by trying to accomplish too many things at once, you experience decision fatigue, which depletes willpower. Put simply, making decisions saps energy. The more decisions you're required to make, the less energy you'll have, and the lower quality your decisions will be over time.

Conversely, being in a flow state is about being totally focused on a single task or activity. While in flow, time slows down. You're fully absorbed in what you're doing. Your mind isn't going in multiple directions at once.

In order to experience more flow, you need to have less on your mind. In order to have less on your mind, it's effective to get other people ("who's") involved in your goals and projects.

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Self-Oriented Versus Other-Oriented Leadership

As a singular example: When I launched my first major book, Willpower Doesn't Work, I didn't have any employees. I did everything myself as it related to launching and promoting the book. I was in "how" mode, which was how I had been trained and conditioned to approach my goals since birth. That meant pitching myself to podcasts, scheduling those podcasts, and showing up. To do all of this involved sending and replying to hundreds of emails, the logistics of scheduling, etc. I was very busy yet not getting that much done.

For my second book, Personality Isn't Permanent, I simply hired someone to schedule all my podcasts for me. Yes, it was an investment, but that's how leaders should view employees. If an employee feels like a "cost," they won't feel valued. They won't have the security to do their best work. I hired Connie to handle all of the scheduling and logistics of getting me on podcasts. All I had to do was open my email at the beginning of the day and I'd have an email from Connie with the links to the four to five podcasts I'd be on that day.

If you want more flow, you need to invest in yourself by getting "who's" involved in your goals. Research shows that investment leads to an escalation of commitment, meaning that when you invest in your goals financially, you become more committed to achieving those goals. Thus, not only do you get more support, but you get a psychological boost.

People Need High Autonomy + High Goal Clarity to Perform Their Greatest Work

One of the greatest pitfalls of leadership is when the leader demands the "who" to do their job in a specific way. According to Self-Determination Theory, intrinsic motivation is highest when the employee has high autonomy in executing the job in their own way, rather than being micro-managed at every step. However, research also shows that without high goal clarity, having high autonomy can actually be a disaster. Without knowing the goal, having freedom leads to spinning in circles.

Therefore, leadership is really about clarifying the vision and providing support, not telling the "who" how to do their job. Instead, you clarify the vision and then get out of the way. Let the "who" choose their own "how." That's why they are in that role in the first place: because they are the one who knows how to do it or can figure out how to do it. Relieve your mind of having to control everything and instead, focus while in flow on whatever is the best use of your time. This is how you not only build the trust of your team but allow your team to become better through the projects you do.

Who Not How

Who Not How is a different philosophy than most are taught in traditional schooling. Rather than individualistic and competitive, it is relational and collaborative. It is the mindset the world's top entrepreneurial coach teaches his clients. He helps them focus solely on the few tasks that give them the most excitement, energy, and flow. He then challenges them to get "who's" for everything else.

Even if you're not an entrepreneur, you already apply this principle in some ways. You probably don't deliver your own mail. You probably don't hand-wash your own clothes (technology can also be a who). We leverage the energy, time, and skills of other people and technology all the time. But perhaps most of us are still thinking way too small. Perhaps we're doing too much and as a result, limiting our imagination and efficacy toward our future. Perhaps we're still focused on "how" rather than "who."