My Leadership Fails: 4 Horrible Bosses & 6 Healthy Habits

"People don't leave companies - they leave leaders!" Greg Savage

Did you know that we spend 34% of our lives (approximately 228,708 hours!) at work? Given how much time we invest in our work it is important to be in a job we are happy with, and even more important to have a Champion Boss (or be a Champion Boss if you are a manager yourself!). 

Horrible Bosses: Four Leadership Patterns to Avoid
We all know what it is like to have a Horrible Boss – either through firsthand experience or through friends and colleagues. Check out these four common types of horrible bosses: 

The 'Laissez-Faire' Leader
Laissez-Faire is a French term which translated means: “let it be” or “let them do as they will”. With this definition in mind you can easily imagine the dysfunctional leadership characteristics of the Laissez-Faire leader. Their preference is to avoid responsibility and not interfere with anything either above or below them in the organisational structure. In management meetings they avoid sharing their opinions and go with the status quo. When interacting with their staff they do not provide feedback, do not follow-up on requests for help, do not communicate their views about important issues and remain vague and elusive.

The impact of this style of leadership on staff is quite destructive, with increased withdrawal behaviours among staff who show low discretionary effort and poor performance, eventually leading to complete disengagement and team dysfunction.

The 'Popular' Leader
The popular leader may not initially seem like a dysfunctional leadership style. Popular leaders are, by definition, focused on being ‘liked’ by their staff. As such, their leadership style has some upsides, namely high support and a very strong focus on positive interpersonal relationships.

However the downsides of a popular leader are low focus on core business, neglect of performance management, avoidance of tough conversations, and a team vs corporate or ‘us and them’ mentality. The impact on staff working with a popular leader is initially positive with high discretionary effort among staff to follow directions. However, the over focus on relationships and the lack of focus on core business invariably leads to poor team performance. Instead of addressing the issues, the popular leader engages in upwards bullying by blaming other teams and more senior leaders for issues rather than taking responsibility and accountability.

The 'Command and Control' Leader
Command and Control Leaders, as the name suggests, take the necessary management responsibility of organising and directing teams to unhealthy and extreme levels. The one redeeming characteristic of a Command and Control leader – high clarity – is completely overwhelmed by the negative characteristics of low perceived support, low engagement, poor communication, neglect of developmental feedback, and an over-emphasis on corrective feedback. The impact of this dysfunctional leadership style on the team is vast and includes a stigma about reporting personal problems, low discretionary effort, low innovation, increased withdrawal behaviours, fear, intimidation and conflict.

The 'Follow The Rules' Leader
What’s wrong with a leader following the rules, I hear you say? Nothing at all – unless of course it is taken to the extremes and becomes the only focus of leadership activity at the neglect of everything else. The ‘Follow The Rules’ leader is characterised by a strong focus on rules and procedures, low perceived support, a reactive people focus, high clarity, everything is black or white, and low engagement. When under pressure, they tighten adherence to the rule.

The impact of this dysfunctional leadership style on staff includes a reluctance to report problems, low discretionary effort, low innovation, increased withdrawal behaviours, harassment and conflict. 

Champion Bosses: 6 Healthy Leadership Habits
While many of us may have had to work with one or more horrible bosses in our careers, we may have also worked with several Champion Bosses but in all the mayhem and confusion of work and life may not have realised it at the time.

A Champion Boss isn’t necessarily a boss who gives you everything you want but rather a boss who can bring out the best in you at work and make the workplace both engaging and profitable for the whole team. Champion Bosses are able to both (1) drive team performance and (2) effectively support staff by engaging in 6 Healthy Habits. 

6 Healthy Habits for Champion Bosses
There are 6 Healthy Leadership Habits of Champion Bosses. 3 Habits help drive team performance and the other 3 Habits assist in effectively supporting staff. 

Healthy Habits To Drive Team Performance

Healthy Habit No 1. Communicating Vision & Strategy
Champion Bosses have a great ability to regularly and clearly communicate to team members the short- and long-term vision and strategy of the organisation at both a global and team-specific level. 

Healthy Habit No 2. Showing Credibility & Getting Results
Champion Bosses are able to effectively demonstrate their own competence and to perform their role and get the team to deliver credible results at both the team and organisational level.

Healthy Habit No 3. Providing Feedback & Development Opportunities
Champion Bosses are always on the look out for opportunities to give and receive both positive and constructive feedback as well as provide developmental opportunities to team members in a way that is fair and equitable to all.

Healthy Habits To Effectively Support Staff

Healthy Habit No. 4. Being Trustworthy
Champion Bosses are able to create an environment of honesty and trust by being an effective listener and never sharing in any negative gossiping. By being trustworthy, Champion Bosses help team members openly share their needs and concerns.

Healthy Habit No. 5. Providing Motivation & Encouragement
Champion Bosses have a great ability to motivate and encourage team members based on their individual needs and preferences. They are great at knowing what makes each individual ‘tick’ and can use friendly nicknames, jokes, small talk, and have goal driven conversations to make people feel encouraged and motivated at work.

Healthy Habit No 6. Supporting People’s Career & Personal Goals
Champion Bosses take the time to understand the career and personal goals of their team members and then provide feedback and support to help them when opportunities emerge. 

Champion Bosses: What healthy habits does your boss have?
If we take a good hard look at our leaders (and ourselves) it is easy to find fault but not always as easy to see the Healthy Habits our Bosses may already have. It is just too easy to cut down the tall poppy when they try to change for the better, or crush the seeds of hope when only a few redeeming features may be evident.

One of my all time favourite sayings is about seeing the glass half full rather than half empty. I always try to encourage people to focus on the positive characteristics of their bosses. So take some time now to reflect and ask yourself the following questions:

How many different bosses have I had over the years and how would I rate each boss in terms of the 6 Healthy Habits to Drive Performance and Support Staff?

Focus on my current boss: (1) What habits are they already a Champion in? When was the last time I gave them some positive feedback about this? (2) What areas do they need to improve on and how could I support and encourage their Healthy Habits?

Focus on myself as a Boss (whether you are currently a Boss or may one day become a Boss): what are my strengths and development opportunities across each of the 6 Healthy Habits of a Champion Boss?

By taking the time to assess and support the 6 Healthy Habits of the Champion Bosses around you, as well as setting your own leadership growth goals, you will be on a path to greater success and happiness in your workplace!

Ride The Waves of Life!

Written by

Dr Pete Stebbins

How to Have Productivity After The Write Up

Write ups...you know, that thing most managers hate to do, and theoretically all employees hate to receive. Write up, corrective action, disciplinary action, performance improvement plan all are meant to put employees on notice that they are doing something wrong. And that they need to improve it, usually with an expected time frame.

Maybe you have received or delivered these in your career. There are good ones and bad ones. Sometimes HR assists and sometimes not. If written or delivered well, you can get a good outcome. If written or delivered poorly, well... you don't get a good outcome. The biggest pitfall of a poor write up is that the employee comes away demotivated and productivity spirals downward.

There are three things to consider: the write up itself, delivery and follow up.

The Write Up. How is it structured? Does it stick to facts and company policy or does it degrade the employee as an idiot, a poor excuse for a human being? Or is it unclear such that the employee is confused? It should state what the employee did wrong, statement of the policy that was not adhered to, expectations of what the employee must do going forward, the consequences if the employee does not improve and the time frame. That's it, clear, brief and to the point.

The Delivery: Manager. This is the most important aspect to have good productivity afterward. It is important to be straightforward about the specifics, no long embellishment dragging details through the mud. Then close with something positive. If the manager REALLY wants the employee to go back to work and be productive, then give the employee something positive to make them want to go back and be productive. Compliment the employee in those areas deserved, and let him/her know that you are confident of their success in overcoming this. Having the employee productive afterward is 80% how the manager delivers. Just remember that turnover is very costly, and salvaging a struggling employee can be well worth the effort.

The Delivery: Employee. OK, the burden is not all on the manager. The employee has to be honest, face up that the corrective action was warranted (almost all are). The best way to prove that you are a great employee is to deliver...correct the performance or behavior, be positive, and thank the manager for believing in you. Deliver these things even if you don't agree with the write up or the manager does not have faith in you. Others will notice, and the manager may change his/her mind about you.

The Follow Up. It has been 30, 60, or 90 days. Time to close the satisfied write up (hopefully). The manager should have been watching, encouraging, taking time to steer and be ready for the update. Of course not all will succeed, and that is worthy of a whole separate article. For those who do succeed, this should be a wonderful meeting. Both manager and employee should be saying "Thank you" to each other. The manager says "thank you for digging in and persevering to overcome this obstacle and succeeding. I knew you could do it, and I am happy and proud of you." The employee says "thank you for helping me along the way, your guidance and advice, and believing in me. I am happy that you are my manager and will continue to do a great job." I have witnessed employees becoming spectacular after working through corrective actions and being given a second chance.

This wonderful scenario doesn't happen on all occasions. There are poor managers, and there are poor employees. Managers should be focused on the bottom line for their department, knowing that productivity affects their bonuses and promotions as does turnover. Employees should be looking at their careers, promotions, or just keeping their jobs. In any case, good, strong productivity is important to both. And productivity can be strong even when write ups are necessary.

Written by

Mary Thompson, SPHR,

10 Words Terrible Leaders Always Use

What's the telltale sign of a good leader? They know how to communicate in the workplace. People follow what they say (and what they do), listen to their instruction, and respect their wisdom. They say the right things. But terrible leaders? They use words like those listed below that destroy confidence, grind projects to a halt, and discourage everyone. 

1. Maybe
Like a flare shot up into the darkness, the word maybe implies a shaky leadership style. When employees ask for time off, a bad leader says maybe. When the sales director asks for help with marketing a new widget, a bad leader says maybe. Confident leaders rarely use the word. 

2. Incidentally
Bad leaders tend to say incidentally with a smirk. It's dismissive--those who use the word don't mean it as an aside. It's more of a put-down. Incidentally, I started this company and I'm in charge. Incidentally, you are an idiot and I'm the smart one. 

3. Probably
Does the word probably belong in business? Not really. Good leaders know they have to find the hard data first--there is no probably. There is a specific percentage. When a leader says we will probably need better tech support for the product or we'll probably hit our sales numbers, it's a red flag. They don't really know the answer. 

4. Unfortunately
I've written before how this is a dismissive term in e-mails. Bad leaders also tend to use the word when they talk to you. Sorry Bob, but--unfortunately--the firm cannot pay the expenses on your business trip. It's a form of control and oppression. 

5. Corrective
A bad leader takes corrective action. I have to be corrective about that, they say. What does that even mean? It's a buzzword--the boss is correcting behavior. But being corrective is not a good leadership approach. Redirecting people and guiding them, encouraging a different approach, that's a sign of good leadership. By the time the boss needs to corrective about something, it's usually too late. 

6. Blame
The word blame weasels its way into the vocabulary of terrible leaders. They say things like, I don't mean to blame you for screwing up a project. Or, I need someone to accept the blame for our financial losses. Great leaders don't talk about blame in the workplace. They find what is not working and fix it. Or they accept responsibility. 

7. Usually
Acting decisively is important because it builds confidence. When a poor leader says usually it reveals a confidence issue--they don't have all of the information. They might say new a new app usually crashes or customers usually can't find parking at a retail store. Wait, did you really mean usually? It's best to find out all of the answers: how often, what is causing the problem, what are the exact variables. 

8. Regrettably
The word regrettably is a dismissive term that poor leaders use to, well, dismiss people. They say regrettably I have to cancel your project, or regrettably I cannot attend your business lunch. The word makes it seem like the leader has a higher priority and, regrettably, you don't rank high enough on the scale. 

9. Sometimes
The problem with the word sometimes is that it implies a lack of research and knowledge. If the founder of a company says people sometimes download a new app on Android phones, or new customers sometimes try to call an old 1-800 number, everyone starts wondering what's really going on. Poor leaders deal in vagaries and half-truths. Great leaders have the answer or know how to find it 

10. No
There are times when great leaders have to say no. It's just not possible to agree to every budget item or every idea. Yet, if you consistently say no to everything, you become known as a naysayer. Your negativity spreads across the company. Figure out how to say yes more. Or at least how to prioritize more effectively.

JOHN BRANDON | Columnist

Why You Lead Determines How Well You Lead

 

One of the most telling questions you can ask someone in any kind of leadership role is what motivates them to be a better leader. Some will say it’s to enhance their personal effectiveness, or that leading is an expected part of their professional development. Others may say that they lead because of a sense of leader identity, purpose, or personal obligation to serve their organization and the people with whom they work. Many will proffer a mix of instrumental, external motivations (like pay or career progression) and more intrinsic, internal rationales (like the obligation to serve).  The group with a combination of motives has the most reasons to lead, and so it seems intuitively reasonable to assume that they would be the most committed, high performing leaders. Right?

 

In a recent article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, colleagues and I examined this assumption. Our study, massive in scale, tracked more than 10,000 Army leaders from their entrance into West Point, through graduation, and well into their careers. For perspective, the sample represents approximately 20% of the living graduates of West Point. We examined the motivations driving their decision to attend the Academy and become Army leaders, and we looked at their performance and potential as leaders in the years following their graduation. A key leader performance measure was identification of early promotion potential. Army performance appraisals are designed to compare officers’ performance to the organization’s leadership framework. Each annual performance appraisal gauged the officer’s potential to lead at higher levels, as judged by immediate and higher-level supervisors serving in positions to observe officers’ demonstrated performance in leader roles.

As one might predict, we found that those with internal, intrinsic motives performed better than those with external, instrumental rationales for their service — a common finding in studies of motivation. We were surprised to find, however, that those with both internal and external rationales proved to be worse investments as leaders than those with fewer, but predominantly internal, motivations. Adding external motives didn’t make leaders perform better — additional motivations reduced the selection to top leadership by more than 20%.

Thus, external motivations, even atop strong internal motivations, were leadership poison.

Many believe that the best way to influence behavior is to incentivize it, and such external incentives certainly work with lab rats. In our study, however, adding external incentives clearly did not improve leader performance. In practice, consider leaders in the Veteran’s Health Administration, most of whom have strong, internal motivations to serve America’s veterans. Yet add hefty bonuses as motivation, and the VA finds itself with a significant leadership problem, where some administrators appear to have lost sight of the core purpose of the organization. One step in righting the ship will be a renewed focus on the internal motivation to help sick and injured veterans. Robert McDonald, awaiting confirmation as the new Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs, wrote about his own internal motive to lead while CEO of Procter & Gamble.  In a personally authored document titled “What I Believe In,” McDonald kicks off three pages of leadership principles by first describing his motivation to lead:

“Living a life driven by purpose is more meaningful and rewarding than meandering through life without direction. My life’s purpose is to improve lives. This operates on many levels. I work to improve the lives of the 6.5 billion people in the world with P&G brands, and I work every day to have a positive impact in the life of just one person.”

One of the longstanding dichotomies in the field of leader development is whether to teach leadership as skills that lead to higher performance (a competency-based model that is relatively easy to metric), or to teach leadership as a complex moral relationship between the leader and the led (a values-based model that is challenging to metric).  Our study demonstrates that those who lead primarily from values-based motivations, which are inherently internal, outperform those who lead with additional instrumental outcomes and rewards.

The implications of this study for leader development — and practice — are profound. In business, the cost of leader development programs is often measured, or at least estimated, as an instrumental consequence — an increase in performance of the organization resulting in a return on investment for the program. This is reasonable, given estimates that place the annual cost of leader development at more than $60B . It is important, though, that talent managers and executive decision makers do not allow external consequences of leader development to become external motivations among organizational leaders.  If those we seek to develop as leaders adopt external justifications for leading well — such as an increase in shareholder value, better pay or perquisites, or increased profits — they are likely to be less successful as leaders in comparison to those who seek to lead for more internal, intrinsic reasons alone.

If you aspire to lead in business or society, first ask yourself, “Why do I want to be a leader?” The answer to that question, as it turns out, will make a significant difference in how well you lead.

Tom Kolditz

Tom Kolditz is the former chairman of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at West Point and is currently director of the Leadership Development Program at the Yale School of Management.

What my kids have taught me about management

After more than 20 years in business, as a follower, employee, manager, leader and business owner; and being the father of three great kids, with one on the way this fall, it has become painfully obvious to me the parallels between managing and parenting. Rising into the management ranks at an early age, I was constantly asked by direct reports starting out their budding careers what they could do to gain the experience and practice necessary to advance up the corporate ranks so fast. I always told them the same thing: “You want practice and experience being a manager? Go have some kids.” Here are a few of the take-a ways I have experienced over the years: 

1. How many times does it take to get the point across? Everyone has his or her own learning curve. Some are quick studies and grasp new things like a sponge. Others take longer to learn the same things. Remember back to when we were in school, learning something new for the first time? Maybe you were the one that got it right away, it was intuitive for you. Maybe you were the one that could not understand how the Pythagorean theorem worked to save your life. Expecting everyone to grasp concepts on the same timeline is unrealistic. Understanding how people learn is the first step to helping get the point across.

2. How do they learn? Every child (or employee) has their own learning style and their own way of communicating effectively. Managers want to lead, teach and coach in their own natural learning style. This works great if your child or team member always shares your learning style. If they do not, you are in for a dysfunctional relationship unless you can figure out quickly how to effectively communicate with them in their own style. And yes, as the manager just like a parent, it’s up to you to adapt, not the other way around.

3. How best to discipline? My two year old is a typical terrible two. Do not get me wrong, she is a great, sweet little girl, but she is ornery and stubborn. When her brothers were her age, I could yell at them for getting out of line and they would straighten up quick. The oldest is a pleaser and he just wants to make you happy. You treat the little one that way and she melts down in a puddle of tears. Real tears, not the fake kind kids are so good at producing. Learning discipline styles and what works for your team is just as important as learning what motivates them. Everyone needs a boost or kick in the pants from time to time, but do it the wrong way and you will lose them. Learn how to coach them and you will have an ally.

4. How are they motivated? Everyone is motivated differently. Some people love being the center of attention and nothing will motivate them more to bust their butts everyday for you than praising them for a job well done in public, especially in front of their peers. Others cannot stand being in the spotlight, and so private acknowledgement works best for them. Many people could care less about benefits or special rewards for a job well done, while others thrive on those little extras or bonuses. Learning what motivates best is the quickest way to learn how to get the best out of those you are working with.

We are all different. Taking a step back and objectively comparing yourself to those you know should tell you that this is true. If we were all the same, this managing thing would be easy. Leadership would be a breeze. Just do everything the way I would expect it to be done and we would operate like a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately, this is not how it goes and anyone that has ever had to lead a group, manage a team, reason with young children or argue with teenagers can attest to the same thing. Trying to apply the cookie-cutter approach will never work. Ultimately, we have to accept the fact that to be a truly effective parent, leader or manager comes down to the same underlying premise: You have to get to know and understand the individuals you are working with to truly be able to lead, teach, coach and mentor them to success. 

Posted by:Matthew Motil

How to Sharpen Your Decision-Making Skills

Image credit: Shutterstock

The ubiquitous phrase "go with your gut" validates the importance of intuition and instinct in leadership and decision-making. But it's also true that discarding reason and experience in favor of hunches often results in bad business decisions.

U.K. marketing and media consultant Jonathan Gifford has explored the balance of these often opposing factors in his book Blindsided: How Business and Society are Shaped by Our Unpredictable and Irrational Behaviour (Benchmark Books, 2012). Here, he shares four strategies to merge mind and gut for better decision-making.


1. Analyze your risk. Hunches that don't expose you to a lot of risk, like testing an offbeat new marketing tactic, may be worth exploring without too much up-front thought. This can be a way to test your instincts and see how often your gut steers you in the right direction. When the stakes get higher, however,like ditching an entire product line or moving your office location, it's time to put the brakes on and examine the idea from a more analytical standpoint, Gifford says. 

2. Examine the motivation. "People are perfectly capable of making rational decisions, listing pros and cons and weighing potential benefits, but in everyday life we rarely do this. Emotion and instinct rule," Gifford says. If a hunch is telling you to take action that's risky or counterintuitive, examine why you're feeling that's the way to go.

If your decision to invest heavily in a bold new business model or fire a key employee is based on fear, anger, or other negative emotions, it's best to wait and see if you still feel the same way after the emotion has passed. 

3. Avoid "me too" syndrome. Gifford says people often feel pressure to do things just because others are doing them, likely because of an instinctive drive to follow the crowd. However, allowing fear of “missing out” to drive your decision-making is dangerous. So-called "booms" in technology and real estate were fueled by a me-too dynamic, Gifford says.

If you feel pressure to adopt a new way of doing business, make investments that aren't based in good business practices, or take other action just because others are doing it, wait until there is evidence that it's the right action before you join in. If there isn’t a strategy behind following the crowd, you could soon find yourself in unsustainable territory.

4. Pay attention to persistent hunches. Can't let the idea go, even though it's tough to make a case for it? Find ways to test the idea or somehow mitigate your risk, perhaps with a pilot program, strategic partnership, or additional market research. After all, some of the greatest success stories came from people who took action even when it seemed like the wrong thing to do at the time, Gifford says. If you're truly committed to seeing through the idea or action and making it work, that's an intangible factor that can create revolutionary successes, he says.

Gwen Moran

Gwen Moran is a freelance writer and co-author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Business Plans (Alpha, 2010).

Favourite CEO in tech

Lenovo CEO spreads the wealth, distributes his $3 million bonus to lower level employees

By Terrence O'Brien posted Jul 20th, 2012 at 11:31 AM 0

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The list of CEOs and other execs in the US that have accepted multi-million dollar bonuses for lording over the crash and burn of a company (or even an entire economy) is staggering. And we can guarantee you that most of that money went towards fancy cars and golden toilet seats. Lenovo's Yang Yuanqing, on the other hand, received a sizable $3 million bonus for actually being good at his job. The additional bonus was a reward for steering the company to record shipments and profits despite a weakening PC market. And what did Mr. Yuanqing do with that money? He gave it back to his employees. That second bonus was broken down into 10,000 discrete chunks and dispersed to line workers, assistants and other lower-level employees. I think that officially makes Yang Yuanqing our new favorite CEO in tech.