Monday, July 4, 2011
Thursday, January 7, 2010
And the Cow Jumped Over the Moon, Part II
By Richard Russey
And now, in Part II of my exploration of the sometimes befuddling behavior of supervisors, managers, or leaders who would seem to either overtly or covertly, or passively or aggressively (sometimes passive aggressively) derail your best efforts at being a responsible, effective, and authentic leader yourself, the going gets tougher. We are entering into an arena of behaviors that are not as easily countered or dealt with successfully. Yet there are still means of at least attempting to counter the negativity of these behaviors:
Querulous Demeanor
In these times of greater understanding and enlightenment around HR principles, standards, and practices, not to mention the increasing number of formal complaints against supervisors who cross the line with their staff, there are hopefully fewer incidences of bosses who demonstrate a true querulous demeanor. Sure, everyone has a bad day now and then, but the manager stuck in behaviors that are characterized by voicing small and petty complaints about personality traits, work habits, and personal work space, or are unnecessarily argumentative and dictatorial are a species at risk of extinction – but let’s be realistic, they do still exist. One need only walk to the water cooler to hear the conversations, in hushed tones, that tell the horror stories of querulous bosses.
The normal reactions by a direct report to a supervisor who exhibits ongoing and over the top querulous behavior include: defensiveness; protective posturing; a distancing from the team; a sense of limitation and lack of desire to go above and beyond; and an erosion of the desire to make reasonable efforts at communication. Perhaps everyone reading this can relate to hearing a co-worker saying, “Uh-oh, the boss is coming down the hall, I’m getting out of here.” Well, managers at a certain level do the same thing when among their peers. When the behaviors exhibited by a leader are such that their direct reports (remember these people are leaders themselves) scramble to get away when they approach, something in that dynamic is terribly wrong. Sure, it is often the source of rich humor for the movies and television; but to live that existence day in and day out at one’s place of employment or in any situation where you report to a “leader” is disastrous.
Clearly, these reactions of getting out of the way, defensiveness, feeling limited, distancing from the team, and giving up on communications are understandable. But, they can be extremely toxic to oneself and to your “down-line” team. So the better course of action is to remain as positive as possible and attempt to respond with these approaches:
• Examine your behaviors, style, and work habits that may be either intentionally or unintentionally provocative in the work environment. There are certain organizational norms around behavior and dress. Often they are written into policy manuals and are therefore a condition of employment. The point here is to engage in a self-review to determine whether you may be displaying passive-aggressive tendencies that are unnecessarily provoking your supervisor into the querulous demeanor. This may not be the case at all, but a periodic self-check, particularly when you are dealing with stress and friction at work is an excellent starting point.
• If you pass that self-review (and in order to be really sure, ask a trusted colleague to provide you with feedback in this arena), then you can safely assume that the problem lies with the supervisor or some other mitigating factor. In that case, a direct approach is usually the best manner to deal with issues such as these. Make careful notes of comments made, behaviors observed, e-mails sent, or other indicators that your boss is undermining you with petty complaints. Now, unless you want a full-scale confrontation (in which case the staff person rarely wins), do not present your list to your supervisor in writing as that would only serve to ramp up the heat and may prevent you from resolving this situation more amicably. Rather, use your list of observations as the starting point for a conversation about your concerns. Avoid accusations, but do invite a discussion that opens a dialogue about what might be behind the petty complaints your boss seems to be directing your way. Is your work otherwise up to par? Have you missed deadlines or failed to deliver on tasks in a satisfactory manner? These are reasonable and non-confrontational questions to ask your supervisor. Remember to speak from the “I” perspective. You can only speak from your own experience and feelings. So, a structural beginning for this type of dialogue could be: “You did ABC, and I felt EFG.” This approach avoids accusations that put the entire onus on the supervisor.
• If your boss has criticized you publicly (a leadership no-no), ask that he or she meet with you privately to discuss critiques of your performance. Keep bringing the conversation back to performance related to assigned tasks and expected deliverables. The more you are able to have your boss focus on those factors that are reasonable measures of your effectiveness and success, the better to lead him or her away from petty complaints. This approach also indicates that you desire to do your best to serve the organization and its mission, and to make it as successful as possible.
Narcissism
Without question, narcissistic behavior abounds among the ranks of leaders for the very reason that promoting oneself over the interests of others is seen as one way of getting ahead of your competition. The regrettable result is a team damaged by the narcissism of their supervisor – lacking in motivation, drive, interest, and the desire to give one’s very best to the organization. Narcissism is easy to spot, and its result cuts deep. When you experience a manager or supervisor who is obsessed with promoting themselves over the team (i.e. grabbing credit and attention), withholds acknowledgement, and uses the personal pronoun “I” rather than the more inclusive “we,” you can be fairly certain you are dealing with a narcissistic boss.
Teams who experience this as a regular “diet” quickly become cynical, apathetic, and reticent to give fully of their talents and skills. The sad result is a team that moves from high performance to mediocrity, among other characteristics.
Again, this is a tough one, and may require much more that an individual or even a team “intervention” can fix. There are often deep insecurities behind the narcissistic personality. However, small changes may come about by:
• Not acting in ways that overtly threaten your supervisor’s self-esteem. Challenging their ideas publicly, particularly when done with an edge and an intention to strike back or get even, is a road to nowhere, except perhaps out the door.
• Do unto others … that is, turn the tables, and engage in the very kind of behavior you would desire from your boss. Give him or her credit for those things they do well, and give the credit publicly.
• Mentor your own team of direct reports towards success then acknowledge them publicly, while making sure your boss is informed of their success. Being seen as willing to share success and to acknowledge others without apparent damage done to your own career may be a valuable and subtle lesson for your boss to observe and hopefully learn from.
• There is an old adage that offers the idea that a behavior ignored will eventually disappear. This may or may not be successful, but the more you go about your business and don’t bring attention to the narcissistic ways of your supervisor, the less inclined he or she may be to continue to engage in behaviors that don’t bring them the attention they desire.
Spuriousness
The case of spurious bosses has to do with behavior exhibited by them that lacks authenticity, is misleading or deceptive, seeks to perpetuate a myth for the purpose of power or control, or is two-faced (that is, different things to different people) in a disingenuous way.
Following the model of being the best “boss” you can be for your team as a starting point, remember to be squeaky clean in your authenticity and genuineness; acknowledge your idiosyncratic qualities or behaviors (we ALL have them); seek to be transparent, open, and honest with your team; and finally, admit mistakes when you make them – then quickly correct them.
Then, there are a few things you can try when you are dealing with the spurious behavior of your boss. Remember, your goal is not to play “gotcha!” with your supervisor, but to intentionally and with appropriate protocol address the behavior as a block to your effectiveness, thus a block to the effectiveness of the team, department, or even the organization as a whole.
• When you doubt the authenticity of your supervisor’s behaviors, never confront him/her with that doubt publicly. As with most of this section, there is a very fine line to walk when attempting to amend the negative behavior’s of one’s own boss. It doesn’t take much for these attempts to backfire. So, careful, thoughtful, and slow going is the key. In this case, a private conversation that attempts to get at the specifics of any given situation is important. You can lead with comments such as: “Did I hear correctly?,” “Do I understand your directive fully?,” “Is there additional information that will help me meet my goal of delivering this task on time and on budget?” This is an important time to put yourself in your supervisor’s shoes, and walk around a bit. IF your boss doesn’t feel attacked, and believes from your approach that you are genuinely trying to improve your work effort, the chances are better for a productive dialogue and outcome.
• This is one of the times that humor might help a great deal. In order to demonstrate your willingness to observe and learn from your own idiosyncratic behaviors, mistakes, or actions, it might be time to pull out a “story” of a time that you realized an unproductive behavior or mistake, were able to laugh about it with your team, and then move forward towards a successful outcome. This may subtly give your boss the “permission” needed to get “real” and speak with authenticity and transparency.
• Once your supervisor has put voice to even a very small mistake, or lack of transparency, or lack of genuineness, react without drama, come up with an idea to help your boss “fix” the situation, and/or admit a similar mistake you have made, and toss off a line that takes the pressure down a few notches, such as, “thank goodness we have opportunities to live and learn” or some such acknowledgement of the supervisor’s attempt at changing their spuriousness behavior.
Obstructionism and Turf Protection
Sometimes the negative actions of the boss is all about undercutting the down line direct reports in order to protect turf, or obstruct an action that will bring positive notice to mid-level manager. In this more difficult case of dealing with your boss, remember one of the rules of “jumping over the moon” – that is, by engaging your boss fully in your idea, project, or activity so there is a camaraderie that is developed from the beginning. During this process, give the boss credit for leading the team so openly and with success for all as the measuring stick.
• Don’t give your boss a reason to feel turf needs to be protected. I know this may sound odd, but often without knowing it, we may say things that claim credit for an important piece of work, or outwardly demonstrates your mistrust of your supervisor.
• Again, see your work as that of a team, and that team includes your direct reports as well as your boss. If your boss doesn’t have the time to be part of your team in a physical way, make sure s/he gets updates regularly from you about the progress of the project. By holding back on information until a day or two before your boss has to report out on your project to the CEO or other higher level leader, you will only exacerbate the feeling the boss may have of needing to obstruct or protect turf. So, make sure you share information fully and regularly so there is nothing for your boss to fear or protect.
Savior Complex.
Finally, some supervisor’s or bosses feel the need to be the one who saves the day by swooping in at the last moments and “fixing” the problems that you were not able to see or handle. There is a narcissistic element to this complex too, of course, but it may be deeply more troubling because it often occurs at the very last minute. I’ve known leaders who will spring the savior complex on a direct report and/or their team at the most critical and/or embarrassing times – such as at a team presentation of a project to the CEO, or board of directors. The boss with a savior complex may wait until that moment to point out flaws, and correct mistakes.
There is not much that one can do in that moment to challenge the boss. So, the best way to prevent this type of behavior is to go back to some of the earlier recommendations – to engage your supervisor in sharing information about the project or task along the way, to seek input from your supervisor along the way, and specifically to do a “run through” of any presentation for the organization leaders before the fact so that you have the opportunity to incorporate your supervisor’s ideas and thoughts before the presentation. In fact, while presenting the project to the organization’s leaders it would be wise to say, where true and accurate, that your boss was pivotal and helpful at various specific points along the way.
So, indeed it is possible for the “cow to jump over the moon” however difficult a feat that seems to be at the moment. Just remember the key ideas of inclusion, sharing, seeking feedback from your boss regularly, and acknowledging your boss for ideas and recommendations that have improved the project.
My thanks to a dear friend and colleague (she’ll know who she is!) for suggesting that I address this topic – a difficult one to be certain – but necessary if one is to successfully navigate the troubled waters of a supervisor, leader, or boss who may not always be coming to their role from an enlightened place, and is therefore making your job much more difficult.
And now, in Part II of my exploration of the sometimes befuddling behavior of supervisors, managers, or leaders who would seem to either overtly or covertly, or passively or aggressively (sometimes passive aggressively) derail your best efforts at being a responsible, effective, and authentic leader yourself, the going gets tougher. We are entering into an arena of behaviors that are not as easily countered or dealt with successfully. Yet there are still means of at least attempting to counter the negativity of these behaviors:
Querulous Demeanor
In these times of greater understanding and enlightenment around HR principles, standards, and practices, not to mention the increasing number of formal complaints against supervisors who cross the line with their staff, there are hopefully fewer incidences of bosses who demonstrate a true querulous demeanor. Sure, everyone has a bad day now and then, but the manager stuck in behaviors that are characterized by voicing small and petty complaints about personality traits, work habits, and personal work space, or are unnecessarily argumentative and dictatorial are a species at risk of extinction – but let’s be realistic, they do still exist. One need only walk to the water cooler to hear the conversations, in hushed tones, that tell the horror stories of querulous bosses.
The normal reactions by a direct report to a supervisor who exhibits ongoing and over the top querulous behavior include: defensiveness; protective posturing; a distancing from the team; a sense of limitation and lack of desire to go above and beyond; and an erosion of the desire to make reasonable efforts at communication. Perhaps everyone reading this can relate to hearing a co-worker saying, “Uh-oh, the boss is coming down the hall, I’m getting out of here.” Well, managers at a certain level do the same thing when among their peers. When the behaviors exhibited by a leader are such that their direct reports (remember these people are leaders themselves) scramble to get away when they approach, something in that dynamic is terribly wrong. Sure, it is often the source of rich humor for the movies and television; but to live that existence day in and day out at one’s place of employment or in any situation where you report to a “leader” is disastrous.
Clearly, these reactions of getting out of the way, defensiveness, feeling limited, distancing from the team, and giving up on communications are understandable. But, they can be extremely toxic to oneself and to your “down-line” team. So the better course of action is to remain as positive as possible and attempt to respond with these approaches:
• Examine your behaviors, style, and work habits that may be either intentionally or unintentionally provocative in the work environment. There are certain organizational norms around behavior and dress. Often they are written into policy manuals and are therefore a condition of employment. The point here is to engage in a self-review to determine whether you may be displaying passive-aggressive tendencies that are unnecessarily provoking your supervisor into the querulous demeanor. This may not be the case at all, but a periodic self-check, particularly when you are dealing with stress and friction at work is an excellent starting point.
• If you pass that self-review (and in order to be really sure, ask a trusted colleague to provide you with feedback in this arena), then you can safely assume that the problem lies with the supervisor or some other mitigating factor. In that case, a direct approach is usually the best manner to deal with issues such as these. Make careful notes of comments made, behaviors observed, e-mails sent, or other indicators that your boss is undermining you with petty complaints. Now, unless you want a full-scale confrontation (in which case the staff person rarely wins), do not present your list to your supervisor in writing as that would only serve to ramp up the heat and may prevent you from resolving this situation more amicably. Rather, use your list of observations as the starting point for a conversation about your concerns. Avoid accusations, but do invite a discussion that opens a dialogue about what might be behind the petty complaints your boss seems to be directing your way. Is your work otherwise up to par? Have you missed deadlines or failed to deliver on tasks in a satisfactory manner? These are reasonable and non-confrontational questions to ask your supervisor. Remember to speak from the “I” perspective. You can only speak from your own experience and feelings. So, a structural beginning for this type of dialogue could be: “You did ABC, and I felt EFG.” This approach avoids accusations that put the entire onus on the supervisor.
• If your boss has criticized you publicly (a leadership no-no), ask that he or she meet with you privately to discuss critiques of your performance. Keep bringing the conversation back to performance related to assigned tasks and expected deliverables. The more you are able to have your boss focus on those factors that are reasonable measures of your effectiveness and success, the better to lead him or her away from petty complaints. This approach also indicates that you desire to do your best to serve the organization and its mission, and to make it as successful as possible.
Narcissism
Without question, narcissistic behavior abounds among the ranks of leaders for the very reason that promoting oneself over the interests of others is seen as one way of getting ahead of your competition. The regrettable result is a team damaged by the narcissism of their supervisor – lacking in motivation, drive, interest, and the desire to give one’s very best to the organization. Narcissism is easy to spot, and its result cuts deep. When you experience a manager or supervisor who is obsessed with promoting themselves over the team (i.e. grabbing credit and attention), withholds acknowledgement, and uses the personal pronoun “I” rather than the more inclusive “we,” you can be fairly certain you are dealing with a narcissistic boss.
Teams who experience this as a regular “diet” quickly become cynical, apathetic, and reticent to give fully of their talents and skills. The sad result is a team that moves from high performance to mediocrity, among other characteristics.
Again, this is a tough one, and may require much more that an individual or even a team “intervention” can fix. There are often deep insecurities behind the narcissistic personality. However, small changes may come about by:
• Not acting in ways that overtly threaten your supervisor’s self-esteem. Challenging their ideas publicly, particularly when done with an edge and an intention to strike back or get even, is a road to nowhere, except perhaps out the door.
• Do unto others … that is, turn the tables, and engage in the very kind of behavior you would desire from your boss. Give him or her credit for those things they do well, and give the credit publicly.
• Mentor your own team of direct reports towards success then acknowledge them publicly, while making sure your boss is informed of their success. Being seen as willing to share success and to acknowledge others without apparent damage done to your own career may be a valuable and subtle lesson for your boss to observe and hopefully learn from.
• There is an old adage that offers the idea that a behavior ignored will eventually disappear. This may or may not be successful, but the more you go about your business and don’t bring attention to the narcissistic ways of your supervisor, the less inclined he or she may be to continue to engage in behaviors that don’t bring them the attention they desire.
Spuriousness
The case of spurious bosses has to do with behavior exhibited by them that lacks authenticity, is misleading or deceptive, seeks to perpetuate a myth for the purpose of power or control, or is two-faced (that is, different things to different people) in a disingenuous way.
Following the model of being the best “boss” you can be for your team as a starting point, remember to be squeaky clean in your authenticity and genuineness; acknowledge your idiosyncratic qualities or behaviors (we ALL have them); seek to be transparent, open, and honest with your team; and finally, admit mistakes when you make them – then quickly correct them.
Then, there are a few things you can try when you are dealing with the spurious behavior of your boss. Remember, your goal is not to play “gotcha!” with your supervisor, but to intentionally and with appropriate protocol address the behavior as a block to your effectiveness, thus a block to the effectiveness of the team, department, or even the organization as a whole.
• When you doubt the authenticity of your supervisor’s behaviors, never confront him/her with that doubt publicly. As with most of this section, there is a very fine line to walk when attempting to amend the negative behavior’s of one’s own boss. It doesn’t take much for these attempts to backfire. So, careful, thoughtful, and slow going is the key. In this case, a private conversation that attempts to get at the specifics of any given situation is important. You can lead with comments such as: “Did I hear correctly?,” “Do I understand your directive fully?,” “Is there additional information that will help me meet my goal of delivering this task on time and on budget?” This is an important time to put yourself in your supervisor’s shoes, and walk around a bit. IF your boss doesn’t feel attacked, and believes from your approach that you are genuinely trying to improve your work effort, the chances are better for a productive dialogue and outcome.
• This is one of the times that humor might help a great deal. In order to demonstrate your willingness to observe and learn from your own idiosyncratic behaviors, mistakes, or actions, it might be time to pull out a “story” of a time that you realized an unproductive behavior or mistake, were able to laugh about it with your team, and then move forward towards a successful outcome. This may subtly give your boss the “permission” needed to get “real” and speak with authenticity and transparency.
• Once your supervisor has put voice to even a very small mistake, or lack of transparency, or lack of genuineness, react without drama, come up with an idea to help your boss “fix” the situation, and/or admit a similar mistake you have made, and toss off a line that takes the pressure down a few notches, such as, “thank goodness we have opportunities to live and learn” or some such acknowledgement of the supervisor’s attempt at changing their spuriousness behavior.
Obstructionism and Turf Protection
Sometimes the negative actions of the boss is all about undercutting the down line direct reports in order to protect turf, or obstruct an action that will bring positive notice to mid-level manager. In this more difficult case of dealing with your boss, remember one of the rules of “jumping over the moon” – that is, by engaging your boss fully in your idea, project, or activity so there is a camaraderie that is developed from the beginning. During this process, give the boss credit for leading the team so openly and with success for all as the measuring stick.
• Don’t give your boss a reason to feel turf needs to be protected. I know this may sound odd, but often without knowing it, we may say things that claim credit for an important piece of work, or outwardly demonstrates your mistrust of your supervisor.
• Again, see your work as that of a team, and that team includes your direct reports as well as your boss. If your boss doesn’t have the time to be part of your team in a physical way, make sure s/he gets updates regularly from you about the progress of the project. By holding back on information until a day or two before your boss has to report out on your project to the CEO or other higher level leader, you will only exacerbate the feeling the boss may have of needing to obstruct or protect turf. So, make sure you share information fully and regularly so there is nothing for your boss to fear or protect.
Savior Complex.
Finally, some supervisor’s or bosses feel the need to be the one who saves the day by swooping in at the last moments and “fixing” the problems that you were not able to see or handle. There is a narcissistic element to this complex too, of course, but it may be deeply more troubling because it often occurs at the very last minute. I’ve known leaders who will spring the savior complex on a direct report and/or their team at the most critical and/or embarrassing times – such as at a team presentation of a project to the CEO, or board of directors. The boss with a savior complex may wait until that moment to point out flaws, and correct mistakes.
There is not much that one can do in that moment to challenge the boss. So, the best way to prevent this type of behavior is to go back to some of the earlier recommendations – to engage your supervisor in sharing information about the project or task along the way, to seek input from your supervisor along the way, and specifically to do a “run through” of any presentation for the organization leaders before the fact so that you have the opportunity to incorporate your supervisor’s ideas and thoughts before the presentation. In fact, while presenting the project to the organization’s leaders it would be wise to say, where true and accurate, that your boss was pivotal and helpful at various specific points along the way.
So, indeed it is possible for the “cow to jump over the moon” however difficult a feat that seems to be at the moment. Just remember the key ideas of inclusion, sharing, seeking feedback from your boss regularly, and acknowledging your boss for ideas and recommendations that have improved the project.
My thanks to a dear friend and colleague (she’ll know who she is!) for suggesting that I address this topic – a difficult one to be certain – but necessary if one is to successfully navigate the troubled waters of a supervisor, leader, or boss who may not always be coming to their role from an enlightened place, and is therefore making your job much more difficult.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Smart/Heart Leadership Training Now in Philadelphia!
The Russey Group presents the Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar
Now in Philadelphia!
Friday, November 6th
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Temple University City Center
Room 308
15th & Market Streets
Registration Deadline - October 25th
Registration fee: First 50 receive discount rate of $125; regular registration $155.
To register go to: www.smartheartleadershippa.eventbrite.com
For more information contact: smartheartregistrar@verizon.net
This interactive seminar addresses a number of critical leadership topics including:
The "Big Six" Competencies of Leadership
Leadership Traits to Avoid (and Highly Effective Substitutes)
The New Century Template for Teams
How to Live Artfully and Intentionally to Prosper Professionally
Richard Russey is a veteran leader with over 30 years experience who has served in local, state, and national leadership roles for both the public and private sectors. Richard's approach to leadership blends the cognitive with the affective which results in a particularly winning style and methodology perfectly suited for creating success in these challenging times.
Here is what others have to say:
"Richard Russey's velvet glove approach to leadership training is a unique combination of business savvy, creativity, and common sense. He's a motivational breath of fresh air."
- Sue Kennedy, public relations executive, and screenwriter of ABC's Emmy winning
After School Special, "My Mom's Having a Baby"
"For those who aspire to lead with authenticity, Richard Russey's Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar is an experience not to be missed."
- E. Dollie Wolverton, nationally renowned educator, Washington, DC
"Richard's approach to leadership is fresh, balanced, and much needed in the increasingly challenging environments in which we do our work. I strongly endorse the Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar for anyone interested in honing their leadership skills, or for those who aspire to lead with distinction."
- Mimi Kenney Smith, Producing Artistic Director, Amaryllis Theatre Company,
Philadelphia, PA
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Liability of Lethargic Leadership, Part II
by Richard Russey
In Part I of the Liability of Lethargic Leadership I looked at a number of indicators that may act as warning signals or red flags that one’s leadership efforts are becoming a bit languid. On the bright side, I offered remedies that may be applied to get back on track and bring a degree of appropriate zest back into the role of a leader.
Part II explores a number of additional indicators of lethargic leadership and relevant recommended solutions, including: avoiding adjustments to work plans based on changing internal and external factors; inconsistent follow through on “walking the talk”; lack of desire to roll up one’s sleeves and jump in to work through heavy task loads with the team; lack of networking with peers and professionals in related businesses; lack of making contributions to your field of work by making presentations at professional conferences, writing articles, research, and other activities; letting your day happen to you, rather than taking charge in the creation of your day; and disengagement from forward looking resource management.
Avoiding Adjustments to Work Plans
Many well-intentioned leaders diligently construct work plans (goals, objectives, outcome expectations, even job descriptions) and then immediately fall into the trap of "concretizing" those plans with a strict adherence that disallows change due to internal and external factors. I previously mentioned that one of the most valuable concepts to embrace in business, indeed in life, is that “change is the only constant.” That concept definitely applies here. Without a doubt, both internal and external factors are going to change as you move into the action phase of your work plan. Dare I say, that concept writ large could be described as the universe – whether one looks at it from a scientific perspective or from the heart of a poet – the universe as a whole, as expansive as you can imagine it, is in a state of constant flux and change. Any attempt to struggle against the tide of change that WILL occur in every aspect of our lives (and business) is a futile and foolhardy exercise.
It helps, I think, to look at the potential change that may impact our work plans. It also helps to recognize the fact that change can be positive as often as negative. In fact, in my view, change is always positive – for in every change dynamic there is at least a kernel of opportunity for applying creativity, adopting a new outlook, and even learning to deal with disaster without becoming overwhelmed by negative circumstances. So, what are some of the changes, both mundane and extraordinary, that may impact our well-intentioned, carefully crafted work plans? It is a long list, so I’ll mention but a few: the always fluctuating economy (globally, nationally, locally, and your own bottom line); shifting demographics which serve to require constant attention to knowing your audience, constituency, or customers; the evolving characteristics of the available workforce (age, education and skill levels, and their expectations and dreams of fulfilling and rewarding work); natural disasters, including everything from hurricanes to floods to fires to very personal “natural disasters” such as illness and accidents that can effect your team; the presence or absence of other businesses or vendors that you may depend on to do your work; and finally, don’t forget that YOU change too – your mood from day to day, your energy around the work you do and your leadership efforts, your state of health, your personal economy, and other factors too numerous to mention. So, I think, point made – things are going to change. You have really only one option if you wish to remain viable in the work or business you are engaged in, and in life generally – that is to not only hang on for the ride, but to learn to effectively ride the wave of change, and take advantage of the exhilaration it offers.
On a very practical level, every team meeting agenda should include a bullet point that addresses change: what has changed that influences what we do? what is going to change in the near future?; how is change going to impact our organization?; and what can we do to address that change in an effort to stay abreast of it, or even better, anticipate it and begin to adjust before it occurs? Then, allow your team to participate in the conceptualization of addressing change. I promise you, if you’ve hired well, if you’ve brought people into your enterprise who have the requisite knowledge, skills, and experience to do the jobs they were hired for, they will be brimming with thoughts and ideas and will be extraordinarily valuable resources as you address change with the intent of making it work for you instead of against your well-considered plans.
Inconsistent Follow-Through on “Walking the Talk”
As is often said, “Talk is cheap.” Results are all in the implementation of the talk which we have come to know as the “walk,” that is, the action that follows talk so that it manifests in reality. Therefore, it is obviously important to be careful what you say in the first place. Your team depends on you for inspiration, intelligence, experience, creativity, motivation, and actions that support the organization as a whole, and their piece of the action specifically. So, don’t talk it if you can’t walk it! All that is required here is to be very mindful of what you allow to come out of your mouth (or pen, or computer). Think it through before you communicate with your team. Don’t make promises that you cannot keep. Be realistic with your team and give the "straight-up" every time you meet with them. Boastful talk, if not based on irrefutable fact will only be seen as arrogance. Asking your team to do things you would not do yourself is akin to asking them to walk the plank, to take the hit for you, and is seen as cowardly. Obviously, this does not mean that you could or should be able to do every job of your team members – after all you hired a team of experts, hopefully smarter than you in any number of ways. But, this does mean that metaphorically, at least, you are willing to stand side by side with your team whenever risk of any nature is involved – and isn’t engaging in just about any endeavor in these challenging times a risk?
Exhibiting the “I Don’t Roll Up My Sleeves” Syndrome
There are few actions that are more meaningful to your team than your willingness and even eagerness to jump into the work, sleeves rolled up (metaphorically or actually) ready to do the work of your organization. There should be no task that you would consider above your engagement. Does the receptionist need a short break to make a phone call to his/her child’s school, and there is no one else to cover? Jump in – it would be good to experience the life of a receptionist for a few minutes. What types of calls are received? How best to answer the phone? How to artfully juggle several lines at once? And, imagine the delight of a customer getting the “boss” of the organization on the first ring! Do you feel that you are above answering the phones for a few minutes? Then, I suggest you are not as authentic a leader as you imagine yourself. That is an example – there are many other times when your efforts to assist your team in getting the work done (without ignoring your own work) will go a long way in establishing a bond of respect and trust and gratitude. I don’t know of a leader who doesn’t want respect and trust and gratitude. But the reality is, it must be earned.
Another example is during times of heavy work load activity. For example, I served for a number of years as a project director leading teams in organizing and implementing training conferences for a major government client. My mantra was, “all hands on deck” starting about a week out from the event, and continuing until the event was successfully completed. I made an effort to be one of the first in the staff office at any given hotel in the morning, and to stay as long as there was a need to assist staff at the end of the day. This does not mean that I ignored my job as project director – I still served as the chief contact with the client, attended numerous meetings with the leadership of the client throughout the event, served as moderator for plenary sessions, and in other ways fulfilled my leadership role. But, I also distributed handouts prior to plenary or breakout sessions, unpacked boxes filled with supplies when they arrived at the hotel, and stayed to the very end of the conference and assisted the team with packing up, cleaning up, and making sure everyone on the team was thanked for their efforts during a final closure meeting.
If you do not do so already, “roll up your sleeves” and work alongside your team when the tasks at hand require it and you’ll be amazed at the dividends such actions will pay.
Lack of Networking Efforts
One sure sign of lethargic leadership is the avoidance or lackluster engagement in networking with peers, organizations, constituencies, vendors, and others who may serve to support your vision, mission, and goals. Perhaps the reasons for a lack of networking effort are numerous – from shyness, to lack of confidence, to fear of engaging the competition. However, I believe that meaningful networking in its many permutations is an essential leadership task. The good news is that “networking” as an activity covers a very wide territory, allowing you to engage in the kind of networking that best suits your personality and goals. The one factor that is a constant is that a good leader must initiate the networking effort. There are some “built-in” opportunities to network at professional conferences; and networking gatherings of like-minded professionals are increasingly common in many areas, including most major urban areas. Go the Internet to find them – if you are not already engaged in networking, you will be amazed at the variety of opportunities for networking that fill the calendar.
However, if chatting with a large number of your peers over cocktails and nibble food at the end of a long day is not your preference, consider the many alternatives: a coffee break; golfing or any recreational activity that is conducive to a balance of activity and talking; the gym; lunch or dinner meetings; arts events; one-on-ones in hotel lobbies during professional meetings; and professionally-related Internet chat rooms; and other forums of varied characteristics that allow you an opportunity to talk about what you do; listen (this is important!) to what others do; exchange business cards or contact information; and stay current with others out there who share some commonality relevant to your organization and its mission.
Follow-up with contacts made at any of the myriad forums is essential. In my experience the brief chat with an exchange of business cards or contact information typically ends there unless you take the initiative to follow-up with that contact. Perhaps the follow-up is as simple as a communication about enjoying the conversation and meeting a fellow leader engaged in work that has some connection or commonality with your organization. Or, the follow-up may be for the purpose of further discussion around an idea or exchange that would be mutually beneficial to both parties. Sometimes, the initial networking meet-and-greet leads to a beneficial long-term connection that is a win-win for both leaders involved and their organizations.
The Dearth of Making Professional Contributions
The lack of contributing to your field of work by making presentations at professional conferences, writing articles, research, and other activities is a slow professional “death.” Given the abundance of opportunities for contributing to your field of expertise, it is really an example of lethargic leadership if a leader fails to engage in adding to the robust and ongoing dialogue around any given area of work. There are all of the opportunities mentioned above, as well as writing a blog, writing a book, teaching
a class, and speaking before community or professional audiences. Of course there are other means of contributing to your field of work, the only requirement of you as a leader is that you find the appropriate means and venue to contribute. The technology of our age, with Facebook and Twitter, and a number of professional/social networking sites makes this an exceedingly easy leadership task to fulfill. Share your ideas and your thoughts about the work you do freely. The benefits can be significant, including a bump to your business and its bottom line.
Letting Your Day Happen to You
If you, as a leader, let your day happen to you rather than taking charge of the creation of your day via thoughtful planning, task lists, daily goals, and adherence to a schedule that is realistic to your particular situation then, yes, you are likely being a lethargic leader.
I’ve written previously on this subject, and refer you to my blog posting dated April 14, 2009, entitled “Creating Your Day.” In that article I referenced the paraphrase of a brilliant line written by Tennessee Williams for his play Suddenly Last Summer: “Carve each day as if it were a sculpture.” With that simple but profound concept, we have the opportunity to take control of our day rather than allow ourselves to be battered about by the chaos that can, and often does, threaten to engulf us and take us away from our intended goals, purposes, and expected outcomes. Without a carefully sculpted plan, we risk wasting time, being taken off course by a myriad of interruptions, and end up feeling frustrated and unfulfilled at day’s end.
A review of my article on "creating your day" rather than letting it happen to you reveals that there are a few major aspects related to the act of taking charge of your day(s): purpose; intention; goal orientation; organization; adaptability; passion; and inspiration. Rather than to insult the reader with a copy and paste of that previous article, I encourage you to go back to that posting and review the details that will allow you to be in charge in a very meaningful way. Suffice it to say here – you have a choice (of course I contend that you always have a choice). But, often it feels like we do not have a choice, that we are boxed in by events or circumstances that are beyond our influence. To that idea, I say “baloney!” One of the very most important qualities of leadership is, in fact, the act of boldly leading, forging pathways, sometimes paddling against the current, but doing so with a solid plan in place, a plan of your specific creation, a plan that supports your success.
Disengaging from Forward Looking Resource Management
This is one of the gravest dangers of lethargic leadership. Managing an organization’s resources appropriately, with an eye on trends and the future is one of the most important responsibilities of a leader. The good news is that there are only three major resources one has to manage: human (people – your team); time; and money. There may be many subsets of those three, but one way or another all resources boil down to people, time, or money. The challenging news is that these three major resource areas require constant attention; and the leader is always engaged in a balancing act requiring skill and experience to manage if there is to be any expectation of success.
A leader must engage in allocating resources with the right mix of addressing today’s needs while scoping the horizon for the need to restructure resource allocations for tomorrow. This requires constant vigilance and a strategic mind to manage effectively. It is a balancing act to be sure. When time is limited, often more financial and human resources must be applied to meet a deadline. Where money is insufficient, time frames may need to be extended (or shortened), but personnel may need to be limited. There are many variations of this balancing act. The point here is that a leader cannot be disengaged from the whole concept of resource management and expect to succeed over time.
Of course, this resource balancing act also requires in-depth knowledge about each one of these resources. What are the time factors that guide any given project? What levels of staff expertise exist to bring to a project? What is the budget allocated to the project, and if it is insufficient can additional funds be acquired? A leader cannot be unfamiliar with any of these resource areas and expect to put together the ratio of resources that will lead to the successful fulfillment of a task or project.
In summation, then, Eric Hoffer’s words ring so very true:
A “leader has to be practical and a realist; yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.”
And, I’ll add my own caveat:
A leader must be fully engaged on both the practical and visionary level with zest and energy lest a dangerous and intractable lethargy become a major liability.
In Part I of the Liability of Lethargic Leadership I looked at a number of indicators that may act as warning signals or red flags that one’s leadership efforts are becoming a bit languid. On the bright side, I offered remedies that may be applied to get back on track and bring a degree of appropriate zest back into the role of a leader.
Part II explores a number of additional indicators of lethargic leadership and relevant recommended solutions, including: avoiding adjustments to work plans based on changing internal and external factors; inconsistent follow through on “walking the talk”; lack of desire to roll up one’s sleeves and jump in to work through heavy task loads with the team; lack of networking with peers and professionals in related businesses; lack of making contributions to your field of work by making presentations at professional conferences, writing articles, research, and other activities; letting your day happen to you, rather than taking charge in the creation of your day; and disengagement from forward looking resource management.
Avoiding Adjustments to Work Plans
Many well-intentioned leaders diligently construct work plans (goals, objectives, outcome expectations, even job descriptions) and then immediately fall into the trap of "concretizing" those plans with a strict adherence that disallows change due to internal and external factors. I previously mentioned that one of the most valuable concepts to embrace in business, indeed in life, is that “change is the only constant.” That concept definitely applies here. Without a doubt, both internal and external factors are going to change as you move into the action phase of your work plan. Dare I say, that concept writ large could be described as the universe – whether one looks at it from a scientific perspective or from the heart of a poet – the universe as a whole, as expansive as you can imagine it, is in a state of constant flux and change. Any attempt to struggle against the tide of change that WILL occur in every aspect of our lives (and business) is a futile and foolhardy exercise.
It helps, I think, to look at the potential change that may impact our work plans. It also helps to recognize the fact that change can be positive as often as negative. In fact, in my view, change is always positive – for in every change dynamic there is at least a kernel of opportunity for applying creativity, adopting a new outlook, and even learning to deal with disaster without becoming overwhelmed by negative circumstances. So, what are some of the changes, both mundane and extraordinary, that may impact our well-intentioned, carefully crafted work plans? It is a long list, so I’ll mention but a few: the always fluctuating economy (globally, nationally, locally, and your own bottom line); shifting demographics which serve to require constant attention to knowing your audience, constituency, or customers; the evolving characteristics of the available workforce (age, education and skill levels, and their expectations and dreams of fulfilling and rewarding work); natural disasters, including everything from hurricanes to floods to fires to very personal “natural disasters” such as illness and accidents that can effect your team; the presence or absence of other businesses or vendors that you may depend on to do your work; and finally, don’t forget that YOU change too – your mood from day to day, your energy around the work you do and your leadership efforts, your state of health, your personal economy, and other factors too numerous to mention. So, I think, point made – things are going to change. You have really only one option if you wish to remain viable in the work or business you are engaged in, and in life generally – that is to not only hang on for the ride, but to learn to effectively ride the wave of change, and take advantage of the exhilaration it offers.
On a very practical level, every team meeting agenda should include a bullet point that addresses change: what has changed that influences what we do? what is going to change in the near future?; how is change going to impact our organization?; and what can we do to address that change in an effort to stay abreast of it, or even better, anticipate it and begin to adjust before it occurs? Then, allow your team to participate in the conceptualization of addressing change. I promise you, if you’ve hired well, if you’ve brought people into your enterprise who have the requisite knowledge, skills, and experience to do the jobs they were hired for, they will be brimming with thoughts and ideas and will be extraordinarily valuable resources as you address change with the intent of making it work for you instead of against your well-considered plans.
Inconsistent Follow-Through on “Walking the Talk”
As is often said, “Talk is cheap.” Results are all in the implementation of the talk which we have come to know as the “walk,” that is, the action that follows talk so that it manifests in reality. Therefore, it is obviously important to be careful what you say in the first place. Your team depends on you for inspiration, intelligence, experience, creativity, motivation, and actions that support the organization as a whole, and their piece of the action specifically. So, don’t talk it if you can’t walk it! All that is required here is to be very mindful of what you allow to come out of your mouth (or pen, or computer). Think it through before you communicate with your team. Don’t make promises that you cannot keep. Be realistic with your team and give the "straight-up" every time you meet with them. Boastful talk, if not based on irrefutable fact will only be seen as arrogance. Asking your team to do things you would not do yourself is akin to asking them to walk the plank, to take the hit for you, and is seen as cowardly. Obviously, this does not mean that you could or should be able to do every job of your team members – after all you hired a team of experts, hopefully smarter than you in any number of ways. But, this does mean that metaphorically, at least, you are willing to stand side by side with your team whenever risk of any nature is involved – and isn’t engaging in just about any endeavor in these challenging times a risk?
Exhibiting the “I Don’t Roll Up My Sleeves” Syndrome
There are few actions that are more meaningful to your team than your willingness and even eagerness to jump into the work, sleeves rolled up (metaphorically or actually) ready to do the work of your organization. There should be no task that you would consider above your engagement. Does the receptionist need a short break to make a phone call to his/her child’s school, and there is no one else to cover? Jump in – it would be good to experience the life of a receptionist for a few minutes. What types of calls are received? How best to answer the phone? How to artfully juggle several lines at once? And, imagine the delight of a customer getting the “boss” of the organization on the first ring! Do you feel that you are above answering the phones for a few minutes? Then, I suggest you are not as authentic a leader as you imagine yourself. That is an example – there are many other times when your efforts to assist your team in getting the work done (without ignoring your own work) will go a long way in establishing a bond of respect and trust and gratitude. I don’t know of a leader who doesn’t want respect and trust and gratitude. But the reality is, it must be earned.
Another example is during times of heavy work load activity. For example, I served for a number of years as a project director leading teams in organizing and implementing training conferences for a major government client. My mantra was, “all hands on deck” starting about a week out from the event, and continuing until the event was successfully completed. I made an effort to be one of the first in the staff office at any given hotel in the morning, and to stay as long as there was a need to assist staff at the end of the day. This does not mean that I ignored my job as project director – I still served as the chief contact with the client, attended numerous meetings with the leadership of the client throughout the event, served as moderator for plenary sessions, and in other ways fulfilled my leadership role. But, I also distributed handouts prior to plenary or breakout sessions, unpacked boxes filled with supplies when they arrived at the hotel, and stayed to the very end of the conference and assisted the team with packing up, cleaning up, and making sure everyone on the team was thanked for their efforts during a final closure meeting.
If you do not do so already, “roll up your sleeves” and work alongside your team when the tasks at hand require it and you’ll be amazed at the dividends such actions will pay.
Lack of Networking Efforts
One sure sign of lethargic leadership is the avoidance or lackluster engagement in networking with peers, organizations, constituencies, vendors, and others who may serve to support your vision, mission, and goals. Perhaps the reasons for a lack of networking effort are numerous – from shyness, to lack of confidence, to fear of engaging the competition. However, I believe that meaningful networking in its many permutations is an essential leadership task. The good news is that “networking” as an activity covers a very wide territory, allowing you to engage in the kind of networking that best suits your personality and goals. The one factor that is a constant is that a good leader must initiate the networking effort. There are some “built-in” opportunities to network at professional conferences; and networking gatherings of like-minded professionals are increasingly common in many areas, including most major urban areas. Go the Internet to find them – if you are not already engaged in networking, you will be amazed at the variety of opportunities for networking that fill the calendar.
However, if chatting with a large number of your peers over cocktails and nibble food at the end of a long day is not your preference, consider the many alternatives: a coffee break; golfing or any recreational activity that is conducive to a balance of activity and talking; the gym; lunch or dinner meetings; arts events; one-on-ones in hotel lobbies during professional meetings; and professionally-related Internet chat rooms; and other forums of varied characteristics that allow you an opportunity to talk about what you do; listen (this is important!) to what others do; exchange business cards or contact information; and stay current with others out there who share some commonality relevant to your organization and its mission.
Follow-up with contacts made at any of the myriad forums is essential. In my experience the brief chat with an exchange of business cards or contact information typically ends there unless you take the initiative to follow-up with that contact. Perhaps the follow-up is as simple as a communication about enjoying the conversation and meeting a fellow leader engaged in work that has some connection or commonality with your organization. Or, the follow-up may be for the purpose of further discussion around an idea or exchange that would be mutually beneficial to both parties. Sometimes, the initial networking meet-and-greet leads to a beneficial long-term connection that is a win-win for both leaders involved and their organizations.
The Dearth of Making Professional Contributions
The lack of contributing to your field of work by making presentations at professional conferences, writing articles, research, and other activities is a slow professional “death.” Given the abundance of opportunities for contributing to your field of expertise, it is really an example of lethargic leadership if a leader fails to engage in adding to the robust and ongoing dialogue around any given area of work. There are all of the opportunities mentioned above, as well as writing a blog, writing a book, teaching
a class, and speaking before community or professional audiences. Of course there are other means of contributing to your field of work, the only requirement of you as a leader is that you find the appropriate means and venue to contribute. The technology of our age, with Facebook and Twitter, and a number of professional/social networking sites makes this an exceedingly easy leadership task to fulfill. Share your ideas and your thoughts about the work you do freely. The benefits can be significant, including a bump to your business and its bottom line.
Letting Your Day Happen to You
If you, as a leader, let your day happen to you rather than taking charge of the creation of your day via thoughtful planning, task lists, daily goals, and adherence to a schedule that is realistic to your particular situation then, yes, you are likely being a lethargic leader.
I’ve written previously on this subject, and refer you to my blog posting dated April 14, 2009, entitled “Creating Your Day.” In that article I referenced the paraphrase of a brilliant line written by Tennessee Williams for his play Suddenly Last Summer: “Carve each day as if it were a sculpture.” With that simple but profound concept, we have the opportunity to take control of our day rather than allow ourselves to be battered about by the chaos that can, and often does, threaten to engulf us and take us away from our intended goals, purposes, and expected outcomes. Without a carefully sculpted plan, we risk wasting time, being taken off course by a myriad of interruptions, and end up feeling frustrated and unfulfilled at day’s end.
A review of my article on "creating your day" rather than letting it happen to you reveals that there are a few major aspects related to the act of taking charge of your day(s): purpose; intention; goal orientation; organization; adaptability; passion; and inspiration. Rather than to insult the reader with a copy and paste of that previous article, I encourage you to go back to that posting and review the details that will allow you to be in charge in a very meaningful way. Suffice it to say here – you have a choice (of course I contend that you always have a choice). But, often it feels like we do not have a choice, that we are boxed in by events or circumstances that are beyond our influence. To that idea, I say “baloney!” One of the very most important qualities of leadership is, in fact, the act of boldly leading, forging pathways, sometimes paddling against the current, but doing so with a solid plan in place, a plan of your specific creation, a plan that supports your success.
Disengaging from Forward Looking Resource Management
This is one of the gravest dangers of lethargic leadership. Managing an organization’s resources appropriately, with an eye on trends and the future is one of the most important responsibilities of a leader. The good news is that there are only three major resources one has to manage: human (people – your team); time; and money. There may be many subsets of those three, but one way or another all resources boil down to people, time, or money. The challenging news is that these three major resource areas require constant attention; and the leader is always engaged in a balancing act requiring skill and experience to manage if there is to be any expectation of success.
A leader must engage in allocating resources with the right mix of addressing today’s needs while scoping the horizon for the need to restructure resource allocations for tomorrow. This requires constant vigilance and a strategic mind to manage effectively. It is a balancing act to be sure. When time is limited, often more financial and human resources must be applied to meet a deadline. Where money is insufficient, time frames may need to be extended (or shortened), but personnel may need to be limited. There are many variations of this balancing act. The point here is that a leader cannot be disengaged from the whole concept of resource management and expect to succeed over time.
Of course, this resource balancing act also requires in-depth knowledge about each one of these resources. What are the time factors that guide any given project? What levels of staff expertise exist to bring to a project? What is the budget allocated to the project, and if it is insufficient can additional funds be acquired? A leader cannot be unfamiliar with any of these resource areas and expect to put together the ratio of resources that will lead to the successful fulfillment of a task or project.
In summation, then, Eric Hoffer’s words ring so very true:
A “leader has to be practical and a realist; yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.”
And, I’ll add my own caveat:
A leader must be fully engaged on both the practical and visionary level with zest and energy lest a dangerous and intractable lethargy become a major liability.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Announcing: Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar
Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar
Facilitated by Richard Russey
September 25, 2009
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Bishop John Thomas Walker National Learning Center
701 Oglethorpe Street, NWWashington, DC
RegistrationNow through August 25 - $135
August 26 to September 11 deadline - $155
Bonus early bird opportunity for first 50 registrants - $125
This seminar addresses critical "Smart/Heart" leadership topics including:
- The Six "Big" Competencies of Leadership
- The New Century Template for Teams
- Leadership Traits to Avoid (and Highly Effective Substitutes)
- How to Live Artfully and Prosper Professionally
- The Six "Big" Competencies of Leadership
- The New Century Template for Teams
- Leadership Traits to Avoid (and Highly Effective Substitutes)
- How to Live Artfully and Prosper Professionally
About Richard Russey
Richard Russey is a veteran leader with over 30 years experience who has served in local, state, and national leadership roles for both the public and private sector. He was a supervising educator for the fourth largest school system in the country and the creator and first director of its premier museum education program, the chief of statewide programs and education for the Museum of New Mexico, director of programs for an international nonprofit, and most recently served as the director of training and technical assistance for a major government contractor working with an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Richard's approach to leadership blends the cognitive with the affective, resulting in a particularly winning style and methodology perfectly suited to creating success in these challenging times.
"Richard Russey's velvet glove approach to leadership training is a unique combination of business savvy, creativity, and common sense. He's a motivational breath of fresh air." Sue Kennedy, Public Relations executive and screenwriter of ABC's Emmy winning Afterschool Special, "My Mom's Having a Baby"
"For those who aspire to lead with authenticity, Richard Russey's Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar is an experience not to be missed."
E. Dollie Wolverton, nationally renowned educator, Washington, DC
"Richard's approach to leadership is fresh, balanced, and much needed in the increasingly challenging environments in which we do our work. I strongly endorse the Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar for anyone interested in honing their leadership skills, or for those who desire to lead with distinction."
Mimi Kenney Smith, Producing Artistic Director, Amaryllis Theater Company and Executive Director, VSA arts Pennsylvania
To request registration form or get more information go to:
SmartHeartRegistrar@verizon.net
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Liability of Lethargic Leadership, Part I
By Richard Russey
When one approaches the responsibility of leadership with anything less that an all-out effort, with all pistons firing and high energy bubbling up from the cellular level, then one may be entering into a zone of liability that I call “lethargic leadership.”
Dating back to the 16th Century, John Maxwell, a Scottish noble and supporter of Mary Stuart, queen of Scots, said, “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
When a leader acts on the wisdom of John Maxwell’s words of nearly 500 years ago, that leader is acting with responsibility, vision and energy that are the antithesis of lethargic.
There are a number of indicators that may act as warning signals or red flags and fortunately there are solutions that may be applied to get back on track and bring a degree of appropriate zest back into the role of a leader.
Herewith are some characteristics of lethargic leadership that I will explore in Part I, along with remedies that may be applied to each.
Team meetings that are infrequent or too-frequent
The Problem: Both infrequent and too-frequent team meetings can be classified as lethargic leadership because what such scheduling reveals is that in either case time is being wasted. Infrequency of team meetings will often lead an atmosphere where team members are disconnected from one another. A great deal of catching up with one another, and updating of various tasks must be accomplished before the team as a whole can deal with issues at hand. But, interestingly and contrary to appearances, too-frequent team meetings can reveal lethargic leadership. Pulling team members away from their day to day tasks and work towards the successful accomplishment of objectives is an indicator that the leader is leaning too heavily on these frequent updates to stay in the loop. In this case, the leader should be connecting with individual staff members, or smaller work groups to get updates and to ascertain the progress of projects. This can be done without gathering the entire team.
The Solution: Create a schedule of team meetings that occur on a regular schedule that is appropriate to the work projects with which the team is engaged. Team meetings conducted once per week is generally a workable schedule. If at all possible the team meetings should be established as an expectation early on, and should be scheduled for the same day and time each week. Changing the day and time of team meetings creates confusion, staff that will be absent from the meetings because of other commitments related to their work. Of course there are always going to be exceptions, but they should be just that – exceptions.
Team meetings that are too short or too long in duration
The Problem: Most problematic are team meetings that drag on for several hours without sufficient focus to deal with the issues that are of concern to the team and that the team can help to resolve. But, team meetings that are too short may also be frustrating because they don’t allow time for in-depth discussions and problem resolution. It is probably clear that team meetings that are too long or too short have some relatedness to frequency issue discussed above.
The Solution: A general rule of thumb is that a team meeting should run about one hour. We’ve all experienced team meetings that are much shorter, as well as meetings that are decidedly longer. But, one hour should be sufficient time to obtain brief updates from the staff, to raise several pressing issues and engage in problem solving discussions, and review the agreements made during the meeting for action going forward. In order to assure a 60-minute staff meeting is functional and productive it is absolutely imperative to work from an agenda. A useful agenda includes three things: a list of topics to be discussed; the discussion leader for each topic; and a time-frame for each topic. Here is a very simple example:
________________________________________________________
ABC Company
Project Team Meeting
Date, Time
A G E N D A
Overview of Project Tasks*
R. Smith 10 mins.
Current Opportunities
E. Jones 20 mins.
Current Challenges
B. Right 15 mins.
Upcoming Events*
T. Jazzy 10 mins.
Review of Decisions/Closure
A. Starr 05 mins.
* See attachments
_________________________________________________________
It is critical to include attachments that may be helpful for the team to read in advance in preparation for the meeting.
Lack of balanced task delegation
The Problem: When a leader delegates too much or too little it is once again a red flag that lethargic leadership is taking place. Simply put, insufficient thought is being put into a well-balanced distribution of tasks among team members and those tasks that should be retained by the leader. When a leader feels it is necessary to handle nearly all tasks and holds onto those tasks with significant responsibility it sends a message to the team that they are not trusted by their leader. On the other hand, when a leader delegates practically everything, and doesn’t take responsibility for some significant tasks, the team members can feel overburdened and begin to question the leader’s role. This is another reason for transparent leadership – the team should always have a sense of what a leader is spending time doing on a day to day basis. It may be professional development activities being planned for staff or other HR issues; it may be participating in community, state, or national meetings with peers; it may be networking to increase business or collaborative opportunities; or it may be fundraising. Whatever the role of the leader – it should not be conducted in secret. That is not to say that the team needs to know all the details about everything as that could prove counterproductive for other reasons. But, the team should have enough of a sense of what their leader is engaged in to have a sense of trust.
The Solution: The leader of an organization should spend considerable time managing the tasks of the team, or working with the vice presidents and/or directors or managers in delegating task work equitably across the organization. This should include an obvious and visible responsibility for some significant tasks taken on by the leader or leadership team. This is often best worked out during the weekly team meetings. Often, you’ll find that your staff members are very willing to take on responsibilities – eager to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and experience. It is helpful to take guidance from the wisdom of Robert Reich, who said,
“A leader is someone who steps back from the entire system and tries to build a more collaborative, more innovative system that will work over the long term.”
Deficiency of interest in the professional and career goals of team members
The Problem: Too often leaders view their world of work from an ego-centric place. This point of view does not make room for engaging in a real interest in the individuals who comprise their team, and are the backbone of their organization. Most employees of an organization are quite aware of the attention and interest (or lack thereof) of their leaders. When a “boss” repeatedly asks mundane questions about a staff member, it soon becomes apparent that listening is not occurring when the employee responds. This becomes more challenging where organizations have large numbers of staff – but it is part of the “homework” a good leader, that is a leader that is not lethargic, takes on. It is vitally important to take an interest in one’s team members, individually, and what their particular professional and career goals are, what there connection to the organization means to them, what are their motivators, and what are the issues they consider to be their challenges. When a leader expresses an interest in his or her team on that level, they will be building trust, dedication, and commitment – qualities that are to be treasured in team members.
The Solution: Simply put … develop a sincere interest in those that work for your organization. Every person who contributes their time, talent, and expertise should be compensated financially of course, but should also be rewarded with your attention, interest, and care. In fact, it a real test of an ego-less leader to care so much about the professional and career goals of individual team members that the leader will help those individuals reach their goals, even if it means that they help them grow out of their jobs and move on to a new organization or employer that is may better fit their desired professional goals and progress. Not to worry, there are always new, talented, smart and eager individuals to bring into your company and onto your team. It is a win-win all the way around. However, remember too, the possibility exists that a particular team member may have a strong desire to stay and grow within the organization, in which case the solution is the great value that comes to all parties by coaching and mentoring and sharing a sense of “ownership” with those employees motivated to stay within the organization. Dedicated, reliable, highly motivated individuals are worth a great deal to any organization and should be treated with the respect they deserve.
Stay tuned for the Liability of Lethargic Leadership, Part II. I’ll discuss a number of additional indicators of lethargic leadership and recommended solutions, including: Avoiding adjustments to work plans based on changing internal and external factors; Inconsistent follow through on “walking the talk”; Lack of desire to roll up one’s sleeves and jump in to work through heavy task loads with the team; Lack of networking with peers and professionals in related businesses; Lack of making contributions to your field of work by making presentations at professional conferences, writing articles, research, and other activities; Letting your day happen to you, rather than taking charge in the creation of your day; and Disengagement from forward looking resource management.
In Part II, I’ll conclude the look at lethargic leadership by examining the truth and wisdom of this statement by Eric Hoffer:
A “leader has to be practical and a realist; yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.”
When one approaches the responsibility of leadership with anything less that an all-out effort, with all pistons firing and high energy bubbling up from the cellular level, then one may be entering into a zone of liability that I call “lethargic leadership.”
Dating back to the 16th Century, John Maxwell, a Scottish noble and supporter of Mary Stuart, queen of Scots, said, “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
When a leader acts on the wisdom of John Maxwell’s words of nearly 500 years ago, that leader is acting with responsibility, vision and energy that are the antithesis of lethargic.
There are a number of indicators that may act as warning signals or red flags and fortunately there are solutions that may be applied to get back on track and bring a degree of appropriate zest back into the role of a leader.
Herewith are some characteristics of lethargic leadership that I will explore in Part I, along with remedies that may be applied to each.
Team meetings that are infrequent or too-frequent
The Problem: Both infrequent and too-frequent team meetings can be classified as lethargic leadership because what such scheduling reveals is that in either case time is being wasted. Infrequency of team meetings will often lead an atmosphere where team members are disconnected from one another. A great deal of catching up with one another, and updating of various tasks must be accomplished before the team as a whole can deal with issues at hand. But, interestingly and contrary to appearances, too-frequent team meetings can reveal lethargic leadership. Pulling team members away from their day to day tasks and work towards the successful accomplishment of objectives is an indicator that the leader is leaning too heavily on these frequent updates to stay in the loop. In this case, the leader should be connecting with individual staff members, or smaller work groups to get updates and to ascertain the progress of projects. This can be done without gathering the entire team.
The Solution: Create a schedule of team meetings that occur on a regular schedule that is appropriate to the work projects with which the team is engaged. Team meetings conducted once per week is generally a workable schedule. If at all possible the team meetings should be established as an expectation early on, and should be scheduled for the same day and time each week. Changing the day and time of team meetings creates confusion, staff that will be absent from the meetings because of other commitments related to their work. Of course there are always going to be exceptions, but they should be just that – exceptions.
Team meetings that are too short or too long in duration
The Problem: Most problematic are team meetings that drag on for several hours without sufficient focus to deal with the issues that are of concern to the team and that the team can help to resolve. But, team meetings that are too short may also be frustrating because they don’t allow time for in-depth discussions and problem resolution. It is probably clear that team meetings that are too long or too short have some relatedness to frequency issue discussed above.
The Solution: A general rule of thumb is that a team meeting should run about one hour. We’ve all experienced team meetings that are much shorter, as well as meetings that are decidedly longer. But, one hour should be sufficient time to obtain brief updates from the staff, to raise several pressing issues and engage in problem solving discussions, and review the agreements made during the meeting for action going forward. In order to assure a 60-minute staff meeting is functional and productive it is absolutely imperative to work from an agenda. A useful agenda includes three things: a list of topics to be discussed; the discussion leader for each topic; and a time-frame for each topic. Here is a very simple example:
________________________________________________________
ABC Company
Project Team Meeting
Date, Time
A G E N D A
Overview of Project Tasks*
R. Smith 10 mins.
Current Opportunities
E. Jones 20 mins.
Current Challenges
B. Right 15 mins.
Upcoming Events*
T. Jazzy 10 mins.
Review of Decisions/Closure
A. Starr 05 mins.
* See attachments
_________________________________________________________
It is critical to include attachments that may be helpful for the team to read in advance in preparation for the meeting.
Lack of balanced task delegation
The Problem: When a leader delegates too much or too little it is once again a red flag that lethargic leadership is taking place. Simply put, insufficient thought is being put into a well-balanced distribution of tasks among team members and those tasks that should be retained by the leader. When a leader feels it is necessary to handle nearly all tasks and holds onto those tasks with significant responsibility it sends a message to the team that they are not trusted by their leader. On the other hand, when a leader delegates practically everything, and doesn’t take responsibility for some significant tasks, the team members can feel overburdened and begin to question the leader’s role. This is another reason for transparent leadership – the team should always have a sense of what a leader is spending time doing on a day to day basis. It may be professional development activities being planned for staff or other HR issues; it may be participating in community, state, or national meetings with peers; it may be networking to increase business or collaborative opportunities; or it may be fundraising. Whatever the role of the leader – it should not be conducted in secret. That is not to say that the team needs to know all the details about everything as that could prove counterproductive for other reasons. But, the team should have enough of a sense of what their leader is engaged in to have a sense of trust.
The Solution: The leader of an organization should spend considerable time managing the tasks of the team, or working with the vice presidents and/or directors or managers in delegating task work equitably across the organization. This should include an obvious and visible responsibility for some significant tasks taken on by the leader or leadership team. This is often best worked out during the weekly team meetings. Often, you’ll find that your staff members are very willing to take on responsibilities – eager to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and experience. It is helpful to take guidance from the wisdom of Robert Reich, who said,
“A leader is someone who steps back from the entire system and tries to build a more collaborative, more innovative system that will work over the long term.”
Deficiency of interest in the professional and career goals of team members
The Problem: Too often leaders view their world of work from an ego-centric place. This point of view does not make room for engaging in a real interest in the individuals who comprise their team, and are the backbone of their organization. Most employees of an organization are quite aware of the attention and interest (or lack thereof) of their leaders. When a “boss” repeatedly asks mundane questions about a staff member, it soon becomes apparent that listening is not occurring when the employee responds. This becomes more challenging where organizations have large numbers of staff – but it is part of the “homework” a good leader, that is a leader that is not lethargic, takes on. It is vitally important to take an interest in one’s team members, individually, and what their particular professional and career goals are, what there connection to the organization means to them, what are their motivators, and what are the issues they consider to be their challenges. When a leader expresses an interest in his or her team on that level, they will be building trust, dedication, and commitment – qualities that are to be treasured in team members.
The Solution: Simply put … develop a sincere interest in those that work for your organization. Every person who contributes their time, talent, and expertise should be compensated financially of course, but should also be rewarded with your attention, interest, and care. In fact, it a real test of an ego-less leader to care so much about the professional and career goals of individual team members that the leader will help those individuals reach their goals, even if it means that they help them grow out of their jobs and move on to a new organization or employer that is may better fit their desired professional goals and progress. Not to worry, there are always new, talented, smart and eager individuals to bring into your company and onto your team. It is a win-win all the way around. However, remember too, the possibility exists that a particular team member may have a strong desire to stay and grow within the organization, in which case the solution is the great value that comes to all parties by coaching and mentoring and sharing a sense of “ownership” with those employees motivated to stay within the organization. Dedicated, reliable, highly motivated individuals are worth a great deal to any organization and should be treated with the respect they deserve.
Stay tuned for the Liability of Lethargic Leadership, Part II. I’ll discuss a number of additional indicators of lethargic leadership and recommended solutions, including: Avoiding adjustments to work plans based on changing internal and external factors; Inconsistent follow through on “walking the talk”; Lack of desire to roll up one’s sleeves and jump in to work through heavy task loads with the team; Lack of networking with peers and professionals in related businesses; Lack of making contributions to your field of work by making presentations at professional conferences, writing articles, research, and other activities; Letting your day happen to you, rather than taking charge in the creation of your day; and Disengagement from forward looking resource management.
In Part II, I’ll conclude the look at lethargic leadership by examining the truth and wisdom of this statement by Eric Hoffer:
A “leader has to be practical and a realist; yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.”
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Announcing: Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar
Smart/Heart Leadership Skills for Challenging Times
Excellence in Leadership
Seminar
Facilitated by Richard Russey
September 25, 2009
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Bishop John Thomas Walker National Learning Center
701 Oglethorpe Street, NW
Washington, DC
Registration
Now through August 25 - $135
August 26 to September 11 deadline - $155
Bonus early bird opportunity for first 50 registrants - $125
This seminar addresses critical "Smart/Heart" leadership topics including:
- The Six "Big" Competencies of Leadership
- The New Century Template for Teams
- Leadership Traits to Avoid (and Highly Effective Substitutes)
- How to Live Artfully and Prosper Professionally
Richard Russey is a veteran leader with over 30 years experience who has served in local, state, and national leadership roles for both the public and private sector. He was a supervising educator for the fourth largest school system in the country and the creator and first director of its premier museum education program, the chief of statewide programs and education for the Museum of New Mexico, director of programs for an international nonprofit, and most recently served as the director of training and technical assistance for a major government contractor working with an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Richard's approach to leadership blends the cognitive with the affective, resulting in a particularly winning style and methodology perfectly suited to creating success in these challenging times.
"Richard Russey's velvet glove approach to leadership training is a unique combination of business savvy, creativity, and common sense. He's a motivational breath of fresh air." Sue Kennedy, Public Relations executive and screenwriter of ABC's Emmy winning Afterschool Special, "My Mom's Having a Baby"
"For those who aspire to lead with authenticity, Richard Russey's Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar is an experience not to be missed." - E. Dollie Wolverton, nationally renowned educator, Washington, DC
"Richard's approach to leadership is fresh, balanced, and much needed in the increasingly challenging environments in which we do our work. I strongly endorse the Smart/Heart Excellence in Leadership Seminar for anyone interested in honing their leadership skills, or for those who desire to lead with distinction." - Mimi Kenney Smith, Producing Artistic Director, Amaryllis Theater Company and Executive Director, VSA arts Pennsylvania
To request registration form or get more information go to:
SmartHeartRegistrar@verizon.net
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