As progress continues for my next book, research keeps revealing some interesting perspectives on both organizational and individual dynamics. Are we afraid of being other than ordinary? Is the preoccupation with mediocrity rooted in cowardice? Is differentiation something we are conditioned to fear both professionally and personally?
Many aspiring leaders do not realize that not making a decision is a decision. The decision not to act may seem like a passive action when in reality the opposite may be true. When we decide to postpone a decision, others are still affected by the indecision. From the complex to the very simple, we make decisions daily. We also decide to postpone decisions thinking we are pondering or considering how to act. Decisions are more like organizational spider webs that impact everyone on the team. Little decisions only bump the web while larger decisions shake it violently. It is only the perception of severity that tempts indecision. For example...
In the world of business, there are more clones than you might imagine. It is the rare organization that steps out of the herd to become remarkable. This illusion of safety creates apathy and mediocrity in most organizations while the leaders struggle to find excellence amidst the decay of the ordinary. As a student of organizational leadership, I analyze the similarities and special characteristics that differentiate one company from another. What makes one organization shine while others seem so content with remaining average? The most likely answer is fear. But the answer is, of course, much more complex. Fear of failure transcends the spectrum of our awareness. There is comfort and even safety in the mediocrity of our existence. Therefore, what it takes to leave the comfort of the pack becomes very rare.
I am confused about your frequent complaints regarding the availability of talented people for your organization. You complain that good workers are difficult to find. Help me to understand your position and perspective because I just cannot understand your logic. Currently, there are people on your team that do not perform, do not show up, and do not appreciate the job they are asked to complete. Yet, you cannot seem to find the desire or ability to remove them from your team. What gives?
Preston is already late for work and feeling stressed by the fresh Monday morning that is upon him. He decides to stop for coffee anyway. The five mile drive to his office seems more like fifty. He is in his seventh month as production supervisor and it feels like seven years. “How did it get this bad so fast?” he thinks to himself. He used to love his job and his life. He is twenty nine years old with a three year old baby boy at home. His relationship with his wife Cindy is very good. And yet, he is so miserable. That faint, yet undeniable sick feeling is coming back and he ponders whether he needs to vomit again today. The company offered Preston his supervisor position because he is a good worker, smart, and eager to learn. He is a very good problem-solver and seems to be respected by his co-workers. A natural fit for the supervisor position is what the company thought. Yet, why is he so unhappy?
As a parent of two boys, I have a perspective that does not include that of a father of little girls. And while the same behavior may be normal, I have no experience from which to make the same judgment. What is it about little boys and dancing naked? This supposedly common behavior that some may consider unspeakable is not limited to my own two little human examples, is it? There is something revealing about this behavior and the pun is definitely intended.
Understanding the tendencies of managers can be very entertaining and humorous. Learning to identify the common challenges faced by many managers can enlighten us to the point that we improve our own performance. Labels can help us identify both the success and failure we all experience when assuming a leadership position within an organization. As you read this, I encourage you to examine these labels for both intrinsic and extrinsic value. In other words, do you sometimes exhibit behavior that can be indentified with each label? Have you worked with others that fit these descriptions?
Most managers are not comfortable with a simple truism that the current condition of any organization is direct reflection of leadership. In other words, managers are accountable for the current success or failure of the team. This epiphany is a rude awakening for some and a sad reality for others. The challenge faced by most aspiring leaders is the brutal accountability that accompanies autonomy. In other words, team performance is directly related to “who” is on the team and “how” they are managed. The wrong people certainly influence performance and this quantification of talent is the primary measure of success and failure. However, the most neglected performance indicator is the environment created by the manager for the team.
Well of course all babies are beautiful and there are very few things more precious than a new life in this world. Yet the analogy of a baby to our work is very interesting to consider. It is difficult, if not impossible, to not see extreme beauty in what we helped create. When we work hard on a project or invest a significant amount of time on anything, we become blinded by the emotional investment we have already made. We lose our objectivity and in some cases “fall in love” with the ugly baby we have created.
We have all heard the horror stories regarding zero tolerance policies in the past. Stories about a teenager being expelled for having a Tylenol in her purse or a five year old removed from the classroom for bringing a toy gun to school are recent examples that have generated buzz in the press. Most of us laugh at the ridiculousness of such examples and consider them to be the exception rather than the rule for today’s society. Why do such policies exist and what purpose do these extreme measures provide the organization? Do such extreme positions provide any benefit? How does such a policy reflect on the leadership within these organizations? And finally, what might be the cost for an organization that must act upon the violation of such a policy?
We have all had an idiot for a boss at some point in our lives. For some of us that pain is a present reality and for others it is a painful memory. And, for others the experience is yet to come. And if you ask the younger workers today, the disease is more prevalent in the workplace than we like to admit. The new worker of today’s high-technology work force seems to resist being led by many of the traditional, short-term focused managers and supervisors in the workplace today.
It is lonely at the top unless we have an executive coach to share the struggles and challenges we face as leaders. Gone are the days of the lonely executive with none among them to trust and confide the challenges and insecurities that exist in us all. In today’s medicated, Prozac era, more and more business leaders are finding (and sometimes being required to utilize) great success from the services of a business or executive coach. Past perceptions of the word “coaching” and the negative stigma associated with a last chance effort to save a faltering manager are fading fast. Today’s high-speed and information intoxicated business climate screams for more and more business coaches to listen to and offer advice for an overloaded, oversaturated and often overwhelmed executive. More common today, at the airport watering hole, are comments like “My coach says…” or “How long have you been with your coach?” type comments.
His information is both provocative and engaging. His speeches can be an emotional roller-coaster with the audience laughing one minute and holding back tears the next. Energy and passion are the two most common words used to describe John Grubbs as a speaker and trainer.
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PSST, CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? WE CAN'T...
Do you work with idiots? Get a free copy of my book to survive...
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It's a humorous book on Servant Leadership that sells for $20 bucks on Amazon. |
