Leadership Naikan

Most Leaders Fail because they Fundamentally ask the Wrong Questions.

When you ask the Wrong Questions, you will Always get the Wrong Answers.

I am constantly seeing Leaders asking the Wrong Questions in Today's World.

For Instance, there is currently a common question of whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) will fix Leaders' Problems?

I've answered this question in the past, and it is a hard No.

If Leaders continue to ask the wrong questions, AI will likely replace them.

Nearly 80% of CEOs say that AI is "currently" Disrupting their Business Strategies.

That is "not" a testament to the quality of AI, rather it is a testament to how Poor CEOs are doing in Asking the Right Questions.

Here's the Reality - If an AI can do better than you as a Leader, you're Failing as a Leader.

If you do not Change the types of Questions you are asking, then it is likely AI will replace you as a Leader.

That would be truly sad because Human Potential is significantly more than AI Potential.

So what types of Questions "should" Leaders be Asking?

Well, I believe that the Questions provided by Naikan, a Japanese form of Introspection and Therapy, lays an Incredible Framework to help Leaders.

What makes it so Amazing is that it consists of only 3 Questions, but can truly Reveal why so many Leaders are Struggling currently.

However, for it to be as Powerful as possible, you have to ask these Questions from a Regenerative Legacy Design Perspective.

Utilizing the different Perspectives from a Regenerative Legacy Design gives you key insights into Dramatically Improving your Team(s) and Organization.

These are the Perspectives:

• Individual Employees
• Teams
• Organization
• Suppliers
• Customers
• Stakeholders
• The World

Failing to take these Perspectives into account will lead to Poor Decisions that will create Significantly Larger Problems for You as a Leader.

With that, what are the Questions?

Let's start with the first one.

"What have I Received from ...?"

Many Leaders have a "General" Idea of the answer to this, but it is "Very" Shallow.

Can you name any Individuals on Projects and how "they" Specifically contributed to the Results you received?

What does a Supplier give to your Organization outside of the Literal "Goods" they Provide?

Could you even name a "Single" Individual from your Suppliers or your ground-level Teams without looking it up?

How many?

What about anything "Other" than Money from Customers?

When you look at All of the Regenerative Legacy Perspectives, most Leaders discover how Little they Know about what they actually Receive.

Truly, most Leaders completely take for granted the Value that is given to them, and that becomes their Downfall.

That takes us to our second Question.

"What have I Given to..."

I'm going to give you a hint, if you can only answer "Money", you've Failed to Understand this Question.

Other than Money, what do you give to any of these Perspectives?

Most Leaders give Little, if "anything" other than Money, and Money alone will not save you.

Ask the various Monarchs of the Middle Ages, they will tell you how little Money means at the end of the day.

This is especially true when the Cost of Living continues to dramatically increase, but wages remain mostly stagnant.

It is also true when we look at the Lives of most of the Richest people in the world - Most of their Lives are Horrible, and Money alone has made them Worse.

Here's another Reality that Leaders must Understand.

If you Receive more than you Give, then you do Not Value your position as a Leader.

You may not see the Consequences of it yet, but I assure you, they will come to Decimate your Life.

The Toll of our Debts eventually comes to Haunt us All.

This brings me to the Final Question of Naikan.

"What Troubles and Difficulties have I Caused to...?"

I'll give you a hint, most Leaders are Causing "Significant" Troubles and Difficulties to "Every" Perspective listed Above.

Just take Burnout alone.

80% of Employees are in Burnout, of which the Majority is "Caused" by Leaders.

What Troubles or Difficulties does that further Cause?

Well, Burnout is the Psychophysiological State where Humans are using more Energy (Mg-ATP) than they can Produce, leading to their Bodies "Literally" Tearing themselves apart.

So Leaders are actively causing Bodily Harm to most Employees.

What are the Laws around "Bodily Harm" these days?

But let's take this further down the chain.

What does Burnout do to Teams?

It Tears them Apart.

How does that Impact Organizations?

It Annihilates Results and Productivity, Lowers Profits, Increases Costs (Especially Healthcare and Sick Days), Creates Group Silos and Dysregulation, and makes Innovation and Creative Problem Solving Impossible.

This is just the "Tip" of the Iceberg.

Here's another thing to Ponder as a Leader.

If you Cause more Trouble and Difficulties than you Provide for Others, Why do you Believe "Anyone" Should Willingly "Give" you Anything?

They Shouldn't, and it is Why so many Leaders are Failing today.

The bad news is that "this" is where most Leaders find themselves today.

The good news is that it is very simple to turn this around.

The Questions of Naikan lay out the Solution.

Stop being the Cause of so many Troubles and Difficulties.

Understand how much Value you Truly Receive.

Figure out what you Must Give to Earn the Value that you Receive.

The thing about Designing a Regenerative Legacy is that Everyone "Should" Win.

All Flourishing is Mutual.

If you are not Flourishing as a Leader, look at these Questions and find out Who else is "Not" Flourishing.

Then you will Know what you Must Do to Succeed.