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Three Reasons Leaders Lose
In my time as a leader, I have made many mistakes, some of which have threatened my ability to get things done, some have threatened to torpedo morale and others have threatened my tenure. Those experiences have led me to explore my mistakes and what could have been done to avoid them. I am sure this experience is not unique to me. Longitudinal research has revealed that between 1960 through 2015, average tenure of site principals has shrunk to three years. People are not staying in the profession nearly as long as they once did. Gone are the days where your children might have the same principal you had.
After looking at the research, blogs, articles, books and other sources I arrived at three pitfalls that not only get in your way of leading groups of people but could end your time at your job.
1. Putting Yourself First: This one is easy, especially early on in your leadership assignment, to focus on your place in the organization or team. You are the talk of the office, people seem to be interested in your thoughts and feelings and are concerned with your comfort. Leaders, enjoying this new attention they are getting, the deference and the perks that come with this assignment. When you look around and see that all of this concern is on you and your happiness, you turn your focus in the same direction, on yourself. The consequences can be problematic because the more attention and energy you give to yourself, the less you have to give to your team leading to the second problematic behavior.
2. Not Considering Others: Because of all the attention paid to you and your happiness, what often gets neglected are the needs of the people on your team. In his book, Good Boss, Bad Boss, Robert Sutton refers to this dichotomy as the Toxic Tandem; your focus on you and your neglect of other people’s words, feelings, and perceptions is what gets you in trouble. Despite the attention being paid to you and your needs, your attention needs to remain on your people. As a leader, you get work done through the members of your team so your energy should be spent on supporting them. Consequently, the leader needs to make sure that barriers are removed and a path cleared for their success.
3. Reality Blindness: The more you put yourself first and become increasingly unconcerned with others, the more your ego defines reality for you. You believe, because your ego will tell you, “Their deference to you is because they are so devoted to such an impressive leader.” You will explain away, shout down or ignore opposing views. In a very short amount of time your position and everyone’s behavior is all about you. Refusing to ask for input or listen to input from others, belittling contributions of others, and generally being a jerk at work is the result. Reality Blindness also prevents you from seeing or hearing the warning signs of the mounting mutiny among the people on your team. You go on about your business as if all is good when in reality it isn’t.
Whether it is business, sports, church or relationships, it is essential to your success that as a leader be mindful of your own conduct and treatment of others. Elizabeth Peterson, Business News Daily Contributor wrote in her October 17, 2013 article, Want to Be a Better Communicator? Shut Up & Listen, “People forgive speaking deficiencies like miscommunication, mistakes, and confusion more easily than they tolerate listening violations like interrupting, ignoring, and being distracted. Careful listening, and demonstrating that you are paying attention to your conversational partner, can counteract many spoken communication deficiencies.” That being said, the most important thing you can do to insure your success is to listen to the people on your team. They have the information and will freely share it with someone that they feel has their backs.
Vivian Giang, reporting for Business Insider on Author Robert Sutton, wrote, “You need to understand what it feels like for people to work for you and if you would be productive working under a boss like yourself.” If you can perceive the way other people experience you which takes honest reflection, you can be an exceptionally successful leader. It is not only empowering for the team to be comfortable enough to be able ask the boss questions, but it is also a positive experience for the boss to feel comfortable asking needed questions. Listen and value all contributions. Your team will appreciate this relationship and you will SOAR!
William A. Brown
February 3, 2019
https://leadershipnow.com/sanborn.html
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5294-communication-shut-up-listen.html
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7996747-good-boss-bad-boss
