1-403-470-0259
Performance Leadership Institute
  • ​​​​
    Ho​me
  • About
  • Courses
  • A Little of What We've Done
  • What Others Have Said
  • ​Say Hello
  • ​BloG
  • Blog
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Virtual Coaching
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Virtual Coaching
Performance Leadership Institute

OLD WAYS WON'T OPEN NEW DOORS - TIME TO RETHINK HOW WE DO LEADERSHIP

4/9/2018

 
Picture
The Old Model
Probably one of the most troubling things I observe in my work with leaders is the attitude that promotions are a means to get out of the field, get off the 6th floor (or whatever floor that may be in your company), get out of the shop; you get the idea.  On the one hand no one is going to fault someone for wanting to move up and make life a little more tolerable for themselves.  However, and this is a big however, more often than not this has translated into an acceptable form of disengagement on the part of leadership. 
What is Acceptable Separation?
Getting out of the field, off "that" floor or out of the shop is one thing; avoiding them is completely another matter.  What troubles me is that this begins to happen at the first levels of leadership and almost immediately.  If it happens there it is certainly happening the higher one goes until you get situations where the presence of a "C" suite leader anywhere other than the executive floor is cause for concern, so rare are those appearances.
This happens in small companies right up to the big ones.  I have spoken with leaders fresh off the front line of operations who no longer go out to see how their crews are doing.  I have met with divisional and business unit leaders who never venture far from their office unless it is to investigate an issue to tear someone a "new one".
It Has A Cost
In an article by Rohit Kar, a senior researcher from Gallup, he states "When executives' engagement is significantly lower than that of employees in the organizations they lead, CEOs need to act fast -- because engagement (and disengagement) cascades down. Employees look to their organization's executives to set a tone and expectations. They know that company leadership determines whether engagement is important, or even if it matters at all."
We Are Not Preparing Our Leaders
One of the top three causes for this lack of engagement on the part of leaders as cited by Kar is poor preparation: many executives rise through the ranks relatively quickly because of their role performance. But they don't necessarily receive the developmental training and opportunities they need to support their growth as effective leaders, such as programs that enhance their self-awareness or ongoing coaching and mentoring around so-called soft skills.
It Starts At The Top
There is a silver lining. Companies that undertake a disciplined approach to prepare and equip leadership at all levels also see improvements in engagement at the C suite level and how it cascades down to the front line. All executive activity has an effect on the people beside them and below them. Ultimately then, leadership engagement is what drives engagement through the whole company.
Every Leader A Mentor, Every Leader Accountable
To say that all companies suffer from this lack of leadership engagement would be overstating the case.  There are some exceptions and as Jim Collins has written, those companies have leadership who from the top down view themselves as mentors to the leadership or team that reports to them.  These companies don't leave leadership development to chance and have robust programs in place for leadership development along with development of leadership metrics that hold everyone accountable for their performance and the performance of their team. 
If you are a leader in one of those types of companies, then kudos to you and your leadership team.  If your company or group is not one of those companies, then I suggest it is time to rethink how your company does leadership.  Performance Leadership - Think About It!

Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Request A Free No-Obligation Consultation
Book a Free Exploratory Call

Or reach out by email

Submit
© rubicon solutions inc. 2021