Tuesday 16 December 2014

Leaders Inspire...

… loyalty.  Bosses inspire obedience.

A boss has the power to fire you if you don’t do what they want.  So has a leader, but a leader makes you want to perform because you want to, not because you have to.

Who gets better performance? 

Some define leadership as “Getting extraordinary results out of ordinary people.”  Being a leader is one of the most difficult “balancing acts” for anyone.  You need to strike the right balance between being approachable and being “in charge”.  You need to see the “big picture” as well as the detail.  You need to be able to give good news and “bad” in a way that team members accept it.  You need to be coach, mentor and friend.

I’ve been lucky enough to work for and with people who achieved this balance and were inspiring and motivating to be with.  I’ve also seen the exact opposite.  Over my career, I’ve had 20 bosses.  Out of them, I would say that I really enjoyed working for (and worked hard for) seven (or 35%), meaning that 65% didn’t get the best out of me. 

It taught me a lot about what I expect from a leader and what others may expect of me as a leader (some of which may be “unreasonable”).  It’s a useful exercise in self-examination.  It made me ask whether I’m displaying the traits I want displayed to me, or whether I reflect the behaviour of the “poorer” leaders to my reports…

Being a “boss” can only be a very temporary thing.  Some indicators that someone may be a boss are:
  • Higher degrees of permitted absenteeism amongst staff (e.g. sick leave);
  • Higher staff turnover than in other teams;
  • Results just meet goals;
  • Staff spend the bare minimum of time necessary in the office and with the team/department head*;
  • Staff seem to develop at a slower pace than in other teams;
  • Team/department functions in that team/department see minimal attendance;
  • Only the head of the team/department ever seems to get the credit.

I’ve seen plenty of bosses who abuse their position (or simply don’t know any other way).  Whatever the case, if you as a senior manager see this kind of situation, you need to do something fast.  It may be a case of counselling the individual concerned, or more comprehensive training.  Toxic bosses result in toxic staff, meaning toxic performance and unhappy customers. 

In some cases, the individual may be aware that there’s a problem, but not of the causes nor what to do about it.  This awareness is the signal that something can be done.

Working with others, particularly in our increasingly multi-cultural world, is never easy.  Different leaders (and different cultures) have different styles, but as employees become better-educated and more demanding, we all need to change to manage this.

* In some cultures, this may not be a sign of a “boss” as people may commute long distances to work and the culture is not to waste time or stay in the office once work is done.


I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: , ,

posted by William Martin @ 08:04 0 Comments

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Are You A "Bottleneck Boss"?

Businesses have to move fast these days to stay in the game (let alone ahead of it).  Something that stops this is the “Bottleneck Boss” who by omission or commission slows things down.

We’ve all heard it before: “We’re waiting for the boss to sign/make a decision/call us…” Everything stops at the boss’ desk.

In a business with only one owner, this is unavoidable.  In fact, a lot of small businesses actually process decisions, signing, etc faster than their bigger counterparts because the business owner IS the boss and understands the priorities.  The problem comes when someone can’t, won’t or isn’t there for reasons within their control.

These situations can be avoided by a sensible approach to delegation and organisation.  By “organisation”, I mean making sure that the boss is organised (even if you have to do it yourself). 

Let’s start with delegation.  Bosses don’t delegate either because they don’t trust others because they feel that they themselves are the best person for the job.  This is typical of the owner/founder of a business who has built it up from the start and, despite hiring capable people, can’t believe that others may be able to make decisions just as well (let alone better) than they can. 

The risks here (apart from everything taking longer) are:
  • One person carries all the stress;
  • The “bigger picture” gets missed as the boss gets bogged down in detail;
  • Things “slip through the cracks”;
  • Opportunities are missed;
  • No one really knows what’s going on;
  • Capable staff aren’t given development opportunities and leave;
  • No succession plan in case something happens to the current owner. 

The other problem - lack of organisation - may actually be the prime cause of bottlenecks, as well as the result of lack of delegation.  A disorganised boss may never be around and when he/she is, he/she’s busy “fire fighting” the problems that could be handled by others. 

Results:
  • No looking to the future and anticipating problems;
  • Priorities constantly change depending on what’s “urgent”;
  • The boss forgets things (I’ve actually seen this happen);
  • Things “slip through the cracks” (sound familiar?);
  • Opportunities are missed (sound familiar?);
  • Frustrated staff;
  • Defections to other businesses.

Bottlenecks can be easily removed if people are willing to work on it.  Ways of doing this are to:
  • Ask what you can do to help (under the boss’ “supervision”);
  • Make suggestions as to how things can be done differently (don’t say better);
  • Remind the boss (tactfully) that certain things are due.
If things don't change, the business will eventually suffer through paralysis introduced by slow decision-making and perceived lack of leadership and organisation.

Letting go of the reins of control isn’t easy for any owner/founder.  Help it to happen by showing you can all be trusted!


I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: , ,

posted by William Martin @ 08:35 0 Comments