Life
is too short for anything less..
Steve Jobs said
about careers, “If you haven't found it
yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know
when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and
better as the years roll on.”
So, with passion embraced, what makes a great leader and what happens
when we are forced into dealing with a bad leader?
A great leader is someone
who can envision a value creating future and translate it into a communicable
vision that all can understand, see and feel!
When we hit a bump in our career, which maybe down to a bad leader, we should think about testing our
formative opinions of the leader, is he or she truly bad? Here are some
pointers to help reflect upon this pivotal topic when it happens in our lives.
The Trigger – What defined
the opinion of the leader as bad? Was it a once off event, or was it reflective
of a pattern of wrong doing on the leader’s part? Also, were there additional
elements that are not related to the leader influencing your judgement??
Awareness – Assess your
leaders awareness of your issues by addressing them with him or her. Does he or
she look engaged and aware of the issues?? If not, was there any other
situational issue that may explain the lack of engagement of awareness?
Culture – Is your
leaders contentious behaviour in line with your company culture or in conflict
with your company’s culture and business practices?
Personality – Is the leaders
personality a primary issue in the bad behaviours where he or she is creating
negative experiences for you? If so, is the behaviour in line with the company
“norm”?
There is no substitute for a good leader and no real cure for a truly bad
one! One needs to be very sure that the leader is indeed a poor one and thus
not be attributing blame unfairly to him or her. However, if the leader is
indeed bad after such reflection, then one could approach the issue along the
following lines:
Evaluate Options. Could you use
this situation to create a positive outcome through applying for an internal
job vacancy or maybe a new job elsewhere?? If you want to stay in your role, is
your bad leader approachable? Would it be constructive if HR were involved in
the resolution of issues that are making you miserable?
One2One. If one decides
to stay in a role, a one2one is advised focusing on contentious behaviours. It’s
important to give the leader a chance to change, as they might not be aware of
the impact of their behaviour.
Find another job. If the leader
is so out of line in your view and the company is not really going to fix it,
then separate yourself from the company. Life is too short!
Steve Jobs was heralded as a great leader yet fell foul of so many
co-workers due to his caustic attitude with staff, so why would so many
professionals stay with Apple considering the downside to his leadership
approach? What did he do right as a leader?
Engagement – When the
ability to positively impact the world around you comes in a job offer, the
memorable legacy of success and achievements at Apple under Steve Jobs
leadership sets staff up with a tech folk hero as much as a leader to follow.
His credibility despite his caustic attitude was based on real visionary
accomplishment and as a great transformational leader; Steve Jobs left a much
larger impact on team members then his peers.
Leadership Vision – One of Steve
Job’s great skills was the sharing of vision, he insisted on making Apple
products intuitively simple to use for the man on the street; sharing this
vision very clearly and thoughtfully with his team and the wider company. Staff
felt secure in the fact that their respected leader had a clear path envisioned
ahead for them to follow offering security and prosperity for all along the
way.
Achievement Potential – Steve Jobs
had a keen knack for spotting potential in staff and pushing them to succeed
despite themselves. His relentless pursuit of excellence was often seen in his
caustic attitude and those whom identified with the “tough love” approach succeeded
under his leadership.
There is no doubt that people leave bad managers, not companies! Try to
find the match between you, your manager and your company. If you don’t like
what you see, don’t hold a grudge and don’t burn any bridges. Get another job
where you are getting what you need from your job and your manager to be happy!
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