Michael Nichols | Leadership Made Simple
Leadership Made Simple
I read a great thought yesterday: Great leaders do not seek to create more followers; they seek to develop more leaders.
Several years ago I led a research project that studied executive team leadership within organizations. The experience was fascinating as I spent hundreds of hours observing and interviewing executives and their teams.
Throughout the project I sought to answer one burning question:
The most important decision you will make today – well…you already made it.
In reality, it was made before you went to bed last night. And in some ways, you made the decision last week, last month, and you’ve been making it for years.
How am I going to start my day?
This post is part of the series – That Was Awkward
That Was Awkward – Decision-Making
That Was Awkward – Leading
Our culture is all about image. Many employees value recognition and affirmation. Others are content to “fly under the radar” to avoid any chance of negative attention from a supervisor.
And this approach is quite logical for some…
…unless you want to lead.
At the very core of leadership is change – after all, what are you leading people to do? To be?
Early in my career, I experienced a number of incredibly difficult challenges in a relatively short period of time. I know you’ve been there too.
Although my team was experiencing record-setting achievements, relationships were strained and my influence was dwindling. I couldn’t make sense of it. And I didn’t understand why my colleagues resented my passion for my work, my aggressive goals, and the long hours I put in.
I loved my work and I loved the outcomes. I loved my team and how they were growing. But it never occurred to me that my passion, energy, and achievements would intimidate those around me. After all, I was laser-focused on improving the organization we were all part of.
Their fear morphed into resentment. I began pushing harder, defending the vision and strategy, and reacting to challenges. As you might imagine, none of this improved the situation. In fact, it made matters worse.Read More
I’ve served with some remarkable leaders in several organizations – and I’ve served with some not-so-remarkable leaders. You can read about some of them here. And since I’m passionate about intentional growth, I’m easily frustrated by unproductive poor leadership and the resulting wasted potential within organizations.
To be totally transparent, I’ve made many mistakes in leadership. There were numerous times that my teams endured countless mistakes along my leadership journey. My teams have been more than patient, even gracious, as I have grown to lead more effectively.
So, whether you’ve been a member of one of my teams or you find yourself trapped in this unfortunate situation, here are 4 ways to deal with a poor leader:
