I developed this article because of the overwhelming need to provide essential skills supervisors and managers must have to effectively lead. We learn so much not by what we wish to emulate, but by what strikes us as negative. We all have experienced poor leadership, even maybe some horrid boss or coworker. Maybe you have not been so good yourself in dealing with people, myself included.
The challenge is to be tuned in to the realities we face as leaders and avoid the numerous pitfalls that no one ever prepares you for.
Rule 1. Be Consistent
Here are a few areas of consideration
- Consistency in thought
- Consistency in mood
- Consistency with emotions
- Consistency in communication
- Consistency in manner
- Consistency in making decisions
- Consistency with dealing with problems/ issues
- Consistency in work ethic
Rule 2. Be Decisive
“That’s the worst decision you have ever made!” “What, did you just crawl out from under a rock with that decision?”
How many times have you looked to a leader to make a decision? Probably more than you can count. Maybe you question their ability to be decisive. Why does it seem that making a decision eludes some people?
OK, I am not here to broad-brush the masses and say the same situation applies to everyone, but I want to share some thoughts on the subject.
First, take a look at the two ends of the influence spectrum above.
So, there are a few forces at work here, and then you make a decision based on policy, procedure, prodding, or some other method or influence. To you, it may not matter much about some decisions made and chances are that many of them you have made may not have had any repercussions or backlash whatsoever.
However, don’t believe for a minute that people are not watching you, though. As a leader, you are in a fishbowl. Like it or not, workers are sizing you up as either being decisive or not (which is a peculiar way, not making a decision is a decision). Why do some hesitate to make decisions? In a word: accountability. Some may not want to be held accountable; to take the path of least resistance and avoid conflict.
So, what do you do?
- Gather the facts (may be limited)
- Limit emotion
- Think about all the possible choices
- Consider possible resistance and be prepared to answer
- Consult your boss when necessary
- Watch out for pressure points
- Be timely
- Communicate
- Realize you will not satisfy everyone
- Keep the influence spectrum at bay
People want decisive leaders.
Rule 3. Realize Trust is Fragile
Handle with care
Trust is not a given, or automatically granted. Sure, not everyone views trust the same way. Some people either are not trustworthy or not the trusting type. I get that. I am sure there are just as many opinions on the topic of trust as anything else. Yet, the fact is trust is fragile especially in today’s work environments. I spend a great deal of time facilitating leadership training and the issue of trust is always mentioned and discussed in great detail. It is a near and dear trait to many.
In business, government, nonprofits, or any organization with multiple employees, trust is essential for getting anything done. Trust is also the basic ingredient for establishing rapport among managers, supervisors, employees, customers, vendors, or anyone else who is part of a business or professional relationship. Therefore it is worth taking a more in-depth look.
Several years ago, I volunteered to participate in the in-game activity, sponsored by the company, to better understand how trust plays a role in our relationships with each other and build upon a foundation to enhance the “corporate culture.” Participants included employees, managers, and senior leadership. We were divided into teams with a mix of participants distributed somewhat equally.
The teams were given scenarios whereby alliances were to be formed among the teams. What was discovered initially was there was much distrust among the teams as well as within the teams. As the game progressed through a series of scenarios, we had to be quick in determining who we thought could be trusted or not, largely based on our perceptions. Finally, the teams with the strongest alliances were deemed the winners.
After we came back together, the moderator began to recap the activity with a few questions on the significance of trust in the work setting. Several people gave textbook answers; some nodded their heads in agreement. I made a few comments on my observations as well.
However, when asked about the presence of trust, I was taken off guard after voicing my opinion that you either have trust or you don’t.
Within a millisecond of my comment, a couple of managers did not just disagree with me but, went on the defensive, ridiculing, discrediting me even to the point of making it personal. How dare I say what I did? They believed there were varying degrees of trust; that people are trusted on differing levels.
The reasons for those managers acting the way they did could have been in response to what I said or how I said it. More interestingly, a level of emotion emerged. Could it be that trust is not a state of logic but rather an emotional issue?
Generally speaking, employees want to feel trusted by their boss to do good work and not to be micromanaged. Employees also recognize when supervisors violate trust either unintentionally or intentionally. Like it or not your credibility and integrity are on the line and will be next to impossible to regain lost respect.
However, one thing you can do as a leader is to make an effort to restore trust by sincerely admitting when you are wrong and offer an apology. Though it may be difficult, humble yourself and ask to be forgiven. You just might be surprised to find that you’re on your way to restoring trust. But it may not be that easy. You may find it could take a long time, especially if you are not quick to be forgiven.
Now, it needs to be said that not everyone is the trusting type. Whether or not you trust your workers is entirely up to you. Just remember your character, reputation, integrity, and productivity are at stake.
Handle with Care-Trust is Fragile
Rule 4. Communicate
Lessons from the dog
One morning I woke up rather early so I decided to get a jump start on the day. After checking my email, the news, and engaging in the important task of Spider Solitaire, I soon overheard my wife in the other room talking rather sweetly to the dog. “Good morning little guy, how are you this morning? You are so cute. Do you need to go outside?” I thought to myself, I can’t wait for her to come through the living room and greet me the same way. “Good Morning Honey!” in an enthusiastic tone. She uttered in a rather distinct “Don’t bother me tone” two letters put together “Hi” and then walked off. I pondered on the fact that the night before, I was stuck on transmit mode. Before beating me up, let me share what happened several days later.
Again, one morning, the same sequence of events. Love the dog, tolerate that thing at the computer. This time, though as my wife was petting and goo-gooing the fur-covered, wet-nosed attention hog, she looked at him and then me and said, “You know, if you were more like the dog and didn’t talk, I would open the door for you too.
You get the implication. If not, I will spell it out. The most important part of communication is not talking but listening. As I practice listening instead of talking, maybe I will be the one who gets more attention than the dog. Who knows, maybe I will get a liver & cheese flavored doggie treat too.
