APPRECIATING AND ACCEPTING SUPPORT


APPRECIATING AND ACCEPTING SUPPORT

Leaders usually have an extremely high work ethic. They often think nothing of working sixty- or seventy-hour weeks or more. This is especially so for leaders whose organizations are start-ups, in crisis, or have complex constituencies, demanding customers, intense social missions, or multi-site or multinational locations requiring significant travel.

In addition to the very real external demands on their time, some leaders exacerbate the situation by involving themselves in the details of decision making, communications, or other matters that would be better handled at a lower level.

Whatever the cause, when leaders work excessive hours, it is rarely a cost-neutral phenomenon. Sooner or later, doing so takes a toll. The toll can take many forms. Organizationally, they may become bottlenecks, the quality of their decision making may suffer, or they may become bad tempered, hurting the morale of those with whom they are unfairly gruff. Sometimes the toll is on their personal lives, though it may not be evident until they are involved in a divorce or become rundown and ill.

The staff members who work most closely with a leader can see this pattern developing early. Often, they try to step in to relieve the leader of some pressure. Leaders don’t always accept these offers of help well. Corporate cultures tend to reward leaders showing toughness, not vulnerability. As a result, they sometimes let themselves get stretched too far before asking for or accepting help.

There is a gray area between trying to support leaders by relieving them of certain pressures and challenging leaders who are insufficiently aware of the effect their work schedule and habits are having on the organization.

Sometimes leaders stay too involved in one aspect of their duties because they are particularly strong in those areas or like them. Sometimes they do not trust others to perform the job to their standards. They mistake their role as being responsible for the work of the organization, whereas the more important role for a leader is building a highly competent team that is responsible for the work of the organization. Sometimes they do not realize how driven they are. Sometimes they are simply disorganized.

Leaders must be very alert to offers by staff to unburden them of duties or to help them perform those duties. They should not lightly dismiss these offers; rather, they should be curious as to why staff are making the offer. Questions they might ask both the staff and themselves include the following:

Do you think I am overly involved in this particular activity? If so, in what ways?

What effect is my involvement having on the staff and on the process?

Who else could perform this function, and what would they need to do to meet the standards I have for it?

Am I not paying sufficient attention to other needs of the organization? If so, what are these?

How much is the strain I’m under showing, and what other changes do you think I should consider making?

Leaders can take advantage of the staff’s concerns to achieve better work-life balance for themselves and to deploy their own energies more strategically. In addition, this presents an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to staff that they can influence their leaders. This experience is useful in creating a culture that supports and develops courageous followership.




The Courageous Follower. Standing Up to & for Our Leaders
The Courageous Follower: Standing Up to and for Our Leaders (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 157675247X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 158
Authors: Ira Chaleff

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