- Stephen Vincent Benet
Power
There is a certain
energy that should come from serving in a leadership role. For leaders who
have broken through to a high level for the first time it can be downright exhilarating. The organization trusts you to make major decisions that will
affect anywhere from a handful to potentially thousands of employees.
With that role comes
an unbelievable amount of automatic trust, pressure, and responsibility to do
the right thing.
Clouded Vision
What happens when that
new leader suddenly realizes that he or she may not necessarily appreciate some
of the points of view on their leadership team? What if the inner circle isn't
filled with a team of agreeable bobble heads that hang on every idea and phrase
as if they were the most insightful thoughts ever uttered?
Change happens, that's
what.
Consequences
To be fair, I am a big
fan of change. I've had to reinvent my own style of leading and getting work
done over the last four years because the world around me changed. It was my
responsibility to reinvent myself in order to remain current.
However, there is
danger when we raise the drawbridge and surround ourselves with a smaller and
smaller team that is saddled with the responsibility of executing our grand
ideas. Is it realistic for a team of less than four or five to manage thousands, or
even tens of thousands of employees? You know the answer. Yet time and again it seems a small group of leaders (who are incredibly isolated from the front line) convince themselves they know what is best for the whole company.
There is danger in
arrogance...and an ever smaller inner circle could be considered the epitome of
leadership arrogance.
How About You
Where is your
leadership visibility? How accessible is the leadership team...really...when so
much time is spent behind a mahogany door deciding "what's best" for
the institution? Where is the action that backs up speeches that espouse
transparency? It's time to lower the drawbridge and lead among our teams, not
over them from the balcony.
I'd love to hear from
you.
No Excuses.
Great post! Leaders that are not just visible, but APPROACHABLE tend to inspire trust more so than the charismatic leader great at presentations and aloof one on one. Authenticity in all situations is tell tale sign of genuine leadership.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the comment and perspective Mark. I agree!
DeleteWhen people approach me with a criticism of something I've done or said, I begin by thanking them. That usually catches them completely off guard because they're expecting a defensive or even antagonistic response. Then I explain that the reason I'm thanking them is because they obviously know me well enough to realize that it's safe to speak frankly with me. I may not agree with their criticism, but I try to listen with reflection to see if there is something of value I can learn about myself and my choices. I find that taking this viewpoint saves me from a lot of angst, helps me build better relationships, and often helps me refine my own perspectives in a valuable way. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Robert! I love this approach!! That shows true leadership vs. "management"!
DeleteI appreciate you sharing!