I think a whole bunch of leaders are scared to do their jobs. I'm serious. The pressure of leading in today's world is scary even for those of us that have been leading for a long time. What are they afraid of? Well, it's actually more like who? It's not their boss, or their customers, or their vendor partners.
They're afraid of their employees.
Myth #1 - Leaders Are Too Busy
Newsflash! Everyone is busy! When leaders try to explain to the team that the reason they are unavailable is they're too busy it is embarrassing. Guess what? Your employees are busy too! Those lame excuses don't cut in 2015. (heck, they didn't cut it in 1915 for that matter)
The cop out strategy that leaders have used for years is the open door policy. Ha! Fail again! This ancient approach was designed for the sole convenience and power of the leader. Think about it...
"Welcome to my office, the one your coworkers just watched you come in to and close the door to speak with me. I'll be here behind my big desk reinforcing that I have all the power. Thank you making me feel better about myself."
Open doors are only good for one thing...walking out of them. When we stop thinking about our own convenience, and begin to place the employees above ourselves we will finally learn what it means to have an engaged workforce. Until that time, we will be trapped in a never ending cycle of corporate spin that isn't fooling anyone.
Myth #2 - Leaders Are Good Communicators
Consider the biggest time killer on every leader's calendar. Meetings. Don't tell me it's focusing on customers, or employees, or the competition. Meetings dominate life. If we're going to break the cycle of dominance that meetings play in the modern world of work, effective leaders will need to schedule time to use the open door policy the way it was intended.
Get off your butt...walk out the door...and start talking to your team members. Really talk with them. Don't parade around as if their life is changing because you've stopped by. They don't care about you that much.
They want leaders who will genuinely listen.
They want leaders who will follow up.
They want leaders who will invest the time to understand what is really happening.
They want leaders who will make decisions to make their work life better.
How About You
Are you comfortable walking the halls of your company? What about the hot spots in your organization? By the way, you have them whether you want to hide in your office and make excuses or not. Get moving...start leading...and make a difference.
I'd love to hear from you.
No Excuses.
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I'm willing to bet you spend so much time dealing with the pressure of your job and feeding the ravenous executive corporate culture machine, that you don't spend much time with the front line staff.
You remember them, right? They're the ones you pass in the hall while your hustling to your next meeting to join the same group of leaders who were in your last meeting.
People First
A year before I left my last organization I decided to try a different approach to connecting with the front line team. I scheduled an hour each month (not a lot of time) to shadow someone. I didn't want the department manager in tow, and I didn't want to sit in a conference room hearing a presentation about the work that was done.
I've worked in hospitals for twenty years, I'm very comfortable on the units, being around patients, and certainly connecting with the staff.
At first the employees were a little skeptical. I think they either thought I was on some sort of secret monitoring mission; or I was about to pull out a powerpoint presentation and help them understand what they should think, feel, say and do.
You Second
It was new...I was the only non-clinical leader doing any sort of rounding like this...and it was spectacular. Once the concept sunk in that I was simply there to learn, the change in the employee's demeanor was obvious. Now they had the power. They could 'show off' what they knew, and I was full of questions. Genuine questions.
Suddenly the lens I saw the organization through did not include me. It didn't include my meetings, my email, task list, or the political minefields that plague every company.
I only had to do two things: listen and learn.
How About You
Do these phrases sound familiar: open door policy, management by walking around, employee engagement, blah, blah, blah. Words matter...if you back them up with action. If they're just tossed out into the universe they quickly become a distant echo.
When was the last time you turned words into action?
I'd love to hear from you.
No Excuses.
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One of the issues that concerns me in writing this blog, speaking at events both small and large, and attempting to actively participating in the larger "leadership discussion" is that somehow I end up getting in the way of the message. It's a delicate balancing act for those of us that are not afraid to challenge each other, and ourselves in our professional practice. Perhaps there are some basic tenets that can be focused on as I move forward to help guard against getting too full of myself. (Read here => tall order.)
Participation as a Responsibility
Part of my struggle is that I firmly believe any real leader should be required to actively participate in making themselves, their profession and their organization stronger. That won't happen if you sit in your office with your lame open door policy waiting for your staff to come by and kiss your managerial ring. Participation means speaking out, taking risks, making mistakes and going forward in spite of your failings.
Another Side of Leadership
Beyond the public recognition of the leadership contribution should come a more discreet counterpoint. The work that gets done behind the scenes should also take as much of a priority as the flashy presentation that gets splashed all over the trendiest web sites and blogs. How much leadership do you provide that only a precious few people, perhaps only one person at times, actually notices? That doesn't seem to be worth the investment, does it? But it does to that one person whose life you just impacted. Big time.
"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can."
— John Wesley
How About You
Check your calendar...it's full. Check your task list...it's full too. Now check the mirror. Still too busy to provide leadership that won't end up on the backchannel?
I'd love to hear from you.
No Excuses.
pic courtesy of oxfordswfproject
