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Stop Whining and Start Leading
By Jim Clemmer
We all know people who suffer from "victimitis" -- the poor-little-me
syndrome whose verbal symptoms include: "They are doing it to me
again," "There's nothing I can do," "It's all their
fault." Indeed, many supervisors and middle managers agree that victimitis
is a big problem at work.
Unfortunately, they don't recognize the extent of their own infection.
Looking right past themselves, they look for ways to change everyone else.
They aspire to lead but end up demoralizing their own teams and frustrating
themselves by choosing to be disempowered by their bosses. They give away
their power by believing that they don't have any. They unwittingly fall
for the cult of heroic management -- the notion that leadership comes
down from on high.
These middle leaders could energize their teams and organizations. Instead
they Dilbertize their workplaces by living in Pity City and modelling
helplessness and cynicism. They often complain bitterly as they wait for
their boss and others higher in the organization to open doors for them.
But they don't realize that the handle is on the inside.
It's all too easy to point fingers upward and shake our heads in disgust.
It is much harder to point our finger at the mirror as another potential
source of our leadership problems. As journalist and author P.J. O'Rourke
puts it: "When we do find someone to blame, it's remarkable how often
his picture turns up on your driver's licence."
Research on high-performing organizations that adapt rapidly to change
increasingly points to the crucial role of middle and lower managers.
European Institute of Business Administration professor Quy Nguyen Huy
found that at companies making lasting, effective changes, middle managers
are far better than most senior managers at leveraging informal networks
and staying attuned to employees' emotional needs.
He also discovered that the successful ones manage the continuity between
extreme inertia and extreme chaos during turbulent times.
In his book Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge, Geoffrey
Bellman challenges upward-looking managers: "You may be thinking,
'But someday I will be in charge of the committee [or agency or division
or team] and I will change things!' Well, think again. That's akin to
getting married with the plan to start changing your spouse immediately
after the ceremony."
Instead, they need to practise upward leadership now. Here are some tips:
| • |
Try to better understand the bigger picture that your
boss and those above you in the organization are operating within.
Do you know what keeps them awake at night? What their key goals and
priorities are? Don't wait to be told -- find out. |
| • |
Take the initiative to keep communication channels open with your
boss. Set your top five goals. Get your boss's input and adjust accordingly.
Meet periodically to review progress and reset priorities. Ask, "What
do you think I should keep doing, stop doing and start doing?" |
| • |
Are you part of the solution or part of the problem? Are you a reactor
or leader? Does your attitude and do your actions just reflect the
temperature of your more-senior managers to the people in your part
of the organization? Or do you try to readjust and change the temperature? |
| • |
Focus most of your own and your team's energy on those things within
your control. Pick carefully the areas or changes you would like to
influence. Figure out how to let go of those things or circumstances
over which you have no control. Not doing this just increases everyone's
misery and creates paralysis. The poet Longfellow was right on when
he observed: "I have found that the best thing to do when it's
raining is to let it rain." |
| • |
Learn how your organizational game is played. Any group of five
people or more is political. Politics involve relationships, trust,
power, persuasion and influence. |
| • |
Build networks and coalitions, especially if you're trying to influence
significant change. Work with those people who are ready to move forward
and build momentum with you. Don't fixate on the fence-sitters, naysayers
or resisters. Involve your boss where appropriate. |
| • |
When it's the right thing, be the leader and do what needs to be
done. It's easier to get forgiveness than permission. |
| • |
Seize the learning opportunity. We can all learn what not to do
from an especially bad leadership example. |
As our organizations struggle with change, we can either be navigators,
survivors or victims. Our leadership response doesn't depend on our position;
it depends on our choices. In dealing with a bad boss or weak leadership
further up the organization, take Leonard Schlesinger's advice:
"It's not up to you to change your boss, but you can change your
situation. You can do this in one of three ways: impose or relax constraints
on the situation, work your way around the situation or get out of the
situation."
| Originally appeared in Jim's column
in The Globe & Mail. Jim Clemmer is a bestselling author and
internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, workshop/retreat leader,
and management team developer on leadership, change, customer focus,
culture, teams, and personal growth. During the last 25 years he
has delivered over two thousand customized keynote presentations,
workshops, and retreats. Jim's five international bestselling books
include The VIP Strategy, Firing
on All Cylinders, Pathways
to Performance, Growing
the Distance, and The
Leader's Digest. His web site is www.clemmer.net. |
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