Originally published on June 16, 2014 at
www.drivingresultsthroughculture.com
I learn a great deal when I’m coaching leaders and executives. Recent
conversations have brought to mind three bad habits that leaders need to break.
A habit can be defined as an
acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost
involuntary.
We humans find comfort in routine – even if those routines and habits
don’t serve us well all the time!
If habits are “almost involuntary,” we are likely less aware of them.
We might be even less aware of the benefit or disservice our habits cause us.
The following “bad leader habits” consistently cause disservice – to
the leader, to their team members, to team performance, and to team member
engagement. And, I see leaders struggle with the impact of these bad habits
quite frequently.
The first bad leader habit is not listening. If leaders don’t
listen, they’re working in the dark. They won’t understand the current reality.
They’re disconnected from their key players and from key information required
for good decision making.
There are two components to leader’s effective listening –
understanding the speaker’s ideas, needs, or concerns, and having the speaker feel
heard. Understanding the speaker’s ideas requires the leader to pay attention
to what’s being said. The leader may need to ask clarifying questions to ensure
he or she understands the situation or opportunity as the speaker see it. The
leader may need to make notes to ensure they don’t miss anything important
that’s being shared.
The speaker will feel heard if they experience the leader paying
attention, showing appreciation for the speaker’s insights, and learning the
speaker’s recommendations. Note that listening doesn’t mean you agree! The
leader can describe their view after listening well to the speaker’s point of
view.
The second bad leader habit is abdicating. Abdication is the
absence of dialog and mutual problem solving. Why might a leader abdicate to a
team member? The leader may trust the team member thoroughly – but isn’t
positioning their delegation of authority and responsibility very well. The
leader may not know anything about the issue or the opportunity – and doesn’t
engage in dialog because they might feel “stupid.” Another common driver of
abdication is the lack of time for the leader do to anything with the
information the speaker provides.
Strategic delegation is an effective way to assign authority and
responsibility. That approach requires discussion, planning, goal and deadline
agreements, and the like – which doesn’t happen if the leader abdicates.
The third bad leader habit is fixing – which is the polar
opposite of abdication. Fixing happens when the leader takes control of the
issue or opportunity and either 1) acts on it him or herself, 2) tells the team
member exactly what to do and how to do it, or 3) assigns the issue or
opportunity to a different team member.
Even if the leader has the skills necessary to fix the issue, is it a
good use of the leader’s time to engage in that micro-level activity? Probably
not. If the team member raising the issue or opportunity doesn’t have the
skills to fix it, the leader and the company would be better served to engage
someone to help teach the team member those skills. That would build capacity
for addressing these needs in the future.
Do you engage in any of these bad habits? The best way to find out is
to ask your team members. Learn their perceptions. If you discover that you
have some bad habits, refine those habits, ask for feedback, and continue to
refine.
