Why Bosses Trip Over Their Own Feet
Posted on October 23, 2015 by Jack Perry Jr, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
Fear is at the core of why top leaders suffer in their workplace. What creates this fear and what can bosses do to get the support of their team again
Ego and pride will destroy a leader’s ability to influence his team’s success on any level. When a leader, manager or CEO comes from a place of fear he or she may end up going for the bottom rung on the effectiveness ladder. Fear of having your mind changed or accepting new ideas, or even coming from a place of being prideful will only lead to fear and to a dictatorial style which stifles creativeness. This fear will quell new ideas and free thinking to support a positive and open culture in an organization.
When a leader comes from a place of fear he or she will start to dictate or bark orders and commands to the team. When a boss does this they are not leading anymore, but actually manipulating. And the reality is that your team will probably pick up this manipulating behavior faster than you can say, “Where did I fail?” This will only result in your team starting to look for new jobs and polishing up their resumes. So, nobody wants to be manipulated, no matter how small their role.
Leadership is not manipulation however, and that’s the difference. Leadership is effectiveness, which creates positive influence and change in order to move teams toward a common and agreed upon goal; an environment in which all team members want to contribute. An effective and influential boss is open to new ideas. He or she relishes new ideas and is willing to listen to them. An effective boss may use language such as, “That’s a different approach, tell me more” or will show praise and encouragement towards their employees to seek “higher ground” by encouraging free flow of talk and educational opportunities.
The best tool I have found to determine how you may be showing up at work is through a tool called the Energy Leadership Index. This assessment will quickly determine if you are coming from a place of fear or ego with your employees. I have had so much success with my clients using this approach as it often leads to employees opening up and going: “I didn’t realize I was doing that” or “I did not know I was having that effect on my team, now I get it.” This is what the Energy Leadership Index is made for. A chance for all employees to understand their strengths and weaknesses at work.
Self-assessing and self-discovery is seldom easy, but a person that is comfortable in their own skin will be willing to look in the mirror and say “let’s figure this out.” And that’s exactly what we should aim to do every day in our lives, in any situation.
