A manager had a weekly update meetings with her boss, a vice president , at which she was expected to produce at least one breakthrough idea each week. Over the course of four years this resulted in a stack of papers, notes and diagrams. These ideas came from different sources, including her own epiphanies, but also from business journals and online forums. However, not one of these ideas was ever actually revisited by her boss or approved for implementation. The manager became increasingly irritated at the efforts to which she was going with no ostensible outcome. Do you ever undermine yourself and demoralize your staff in this way?
In another organization, an opportunity arises to meet and have one to one with the boss. A manager enters for his on -to-one, there is small talk and then comes the big question: "What can I do to help you achieve what you need? I'm here to help, so be honest." The manager is open and requests support for a new initiative, but the response comes back: " Any time, just tell me what you need; I'm totally behind you." The manager wonders if he's missed something and tries again, but receives the same response. It seems that what his boss really means is: " Allow me to make this powerful statement that will make it sound as though I support you.It makes me feel good and like a real leader."
Over a period of some years a manager had lost count of the number of evaluations he had conducted on suppliers for key products. He later discovered that his CEO had a significant ownership in a number of the companies being evaluated and, in fact, ownership in the suppliers that were always selected, despite not always being the ones recommended. How much time, energy and money could have been saved if the manager had simply been told: " We have an interest in the following companies and so will always do business with them, but let's do some high level comparisons and due diligence." How frustrated do you think this manager felt by not being given this information and later discovering the facts?
As part of strategic scenario planning at one firm, it was decided that teams could be formed to discuss ideas for the future of the company. The CEO deliberately didn't attend the start of the meeting to give the teams an opportunity to be open and honest. After four hours of work, the teams had covered the walls with charts and notes with everything synthesized down to core points. The CEO arrived and stated her dissapointment that the teams had not come up with what she wanted. The CEO then asked the teams to reform and she rotated around them, nudging them towards what she wanted. If you know what you want, why make people jump through hoops so that it looks as if you are doing the right thing?
As a leader, don't blow smoke.If you want to do something, just do it. Do not make a team spend time and energy doing something you are going to ignore anyway-you will make instant cost savings by not following that route.
A foreman work for the same company for 39 years. He loved it and was proud of the team that worked for him. He was amazed that every 10 years or so he would see the same ideas come through the company, particularly one idea from an all-terrain vehicle that was designed , developed and tested, and was always scrapped because it just didn't work out- but not until a huge amount of time and money had ben spent on the project. The managers and engineers didn't know this was the fourth time the idea had been tried as they hadn't been around the last time and because they never asked the foreman or his crew for advice. Who are you ignoring?
Do you ever solicit ideas form other people and then present them as your own? What do you think you are doing to morale? Do you really think that person will forget they told you about the idea? Give credit where it's due and you will boost morale and the creation of more ideas.
These examples are not unique. You will have seen many teams and professionals use their skills, education, knowledge and expertise to advise and direct only to have those above them either ignore or directly go against this advice, to fail and then repeat this process again and again. Always remember that ego does not trump knowledge. It is important , especially when we are in our comfort zone, to ensure that we are aware of how we act in a leadeship role.
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