How to train for Incompetence

Can you train someone to question their actions and look for constant validation?

Yes, I believe you can.

Here’s how in 3 easy steps.

The "Perfect" Formula for Crushing Confidence

1.      With many (not all) of the tasks they perform, correct them on how they should do it, based on the way you do it.

Don’t do it on all tasks – you want to keep them on edge. Picture this: Sarah finds a faster way to streamline requests that saves 20 minutes per day, but instead of celebrating her innovation, you immediately explain why "the established way is better." Even though her method works just fine.

2.      Be sure not to consider their way of doing a task, although it may have the same (or possibly better) outcome as yours.

Never ask why they chose their approach. Sarah's new system actually reduced errors by 15%, but who cares about the logic behind it? Just redirect them back to your way and move on.

3.      Hold back praise on work they did. Only allocate in portions when prompted.

When Sarah's email campaign generates a 35% higher open rate than industry benchmarks, just say "looks good" when she specifically asks for feedback. That's it.

The result?

An employee that leans on you for everything, seeks constant validation, or even better—leaves you altogether.

And here's the kicker: you're not just training one person for incompetence. You're creating a bottleneck where everything has to flow through you. Your best people will bail, innovation dies, and you become the single point of failure for your entire team.

Well, that's pretty bleak, don't you think?

So, what can you do instead?

Give your employes the freedom to learn. And yes, make mistakes.

What can this do? It gives them the courage to speak up, to explore alternative ways to complete a task, to come up with solutions to problems on their own.

To be coachable. To be a problem-solver. To be independent. To be loyal.

This week, pick one task you usually hover over. Step back and let them handle it their way. You might be shocked at what they come up with. And you’ll probably feel wildly uncomfortable doing this. That’s ok. Get uncomfortable.

Give authentic praise on the big (and little) things. 

But make it real. Instead of "good job," try "Your decision to lead with that customer story in the presentation grabbed their attention immediately—that's exactly why we landed this deal."

Telling someone they did a good job, recognizing them for a great customer interaction, commending how they led through their actions. It's powerful how far a genuine 'well done' can go.

Give thanks. 

Your people are there because you need them, or why would you be paying them? When they feel appreciated, they'll stick by your side – even when things get messy – because in business, it's really tough to never have messy.

A simple "thanks for staying late to help the team" goes further than you think.

Give guidance.

Wait, what? But you're not supposed to tell them what to do, right?

Well, not exactly.

You still need to provide direction, but make it about the destination, not every single step.

Instead of "First pull the campaign data, then segment by demographics, then create performance reports for each channel..." try "I need insights on our campaign performance to inform our next actions. What story do you think the data will tell us?"

Have checkpoints to ask how things are going, what they've learned, if they're stuck on anything. It lets you see progress and course-correct if needed. This gives your employee the freedom to figure things out without feeling lost at sea.

The result? You're building a dynamic workforce that actually thinks.

Before you change anything, get honest with yourself:

• Do your people suggest improvements, or just wait for orders?

• When someone comes to you with a decision, are you their first stop or last resort?

• How often do you catch yourself jumping straight to 'That's not how I would do it, do it like this' instead of asking 'What's your thinking here?'

• Do challenges energize your team or stress them out?

Your answers will tell you everything.

This is obviously not an all-inclusive list, rather a skimming of the surface. But hopefully it gives you something to think about in how you approach leading your team.

Your challenge this week: Practice the curious pause. When you want to jump in and correct, pause and ask "Tell me about your thinking here" instead.

What leadership habit have you seen that accidentally trains for incompetence? More importantly, what are you going to do about it?

You've got this, keep on being awesome.

Lyanne

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To your success,

Lyanne