The Leadership Void

I had the chance to observe a lot of folks during the recent county fair.  As I watched the people, I noticed several different types groups.  Among the groups were families, teenagers and couples.  Besides enjoying the fair, the groups all had one thing in common – a leader.

Some of the leaders were readily identifiable.  The parent could be seen and heard guiding family members.  For the teenagers, the leader was usually the person who was more vocal and animated in trying to coax the group.  For some of the couples, the leader could be seen gesturing.

Leaders are necessary for the group to function.  For the family, the parent keeps the group physically together, reminds family members of the rules and makes decisions for the family.  The leader for the group of teenagers helps to identify what the group wants to do next and works toward maintaining group cohesion.   

Without a leader to accomplish these types of critical tasks, the group will have difficulty in serving its intended purpose.  The group will lose its way and cohesion will be in jeopardy.  Ultimately, the ability of the group to function will deteriorate.  This absence of leadership creates a void. 

Having a leadership void in a group can have a disastrous affect.  Symptoms of such a  void include a lack of critical decision making and significant problems not being addressed.  Another indicator of a leadership void is a lot of squabbling with the resulting increased tension. 

Left unchecked, these types of behaviors can lead to declining morale which in turn can generate personnel turnover and lower productivity.  Trust wanes as confidence in leadership declines.  No one wants to works in this type of environment, including the boss.

If these types of behaviors are occurring, then the boss needs to figure out what they need to do differently and strap it on.   This is not an easy task as change can be daunting.  Chances are mistakes will be made.  Trying to be a better leader, even if it is not overly successful will be seen as a positive. 

The informal groups at the fair were having fun.  With effective leadership, the work place can be a positive experience which in turn leads to greater morale and enhanced productivity.

Trust Required to Avoid Doing Something Stupid       

One of the common worries for leaders can be doing something stupid.  Taking a course of action that squanders resources or doesn’t accomplish its intended purpose can mean a loss of face and potentially credibility for the leader.  To help avoid this pitfall someone in the company needs to come forward and point out to the leader that something won’t work.  One such person who helped me avoid doing something stupid was Terry Lynch.

Terry was the Warehouse Coordinator for Missoula County Public Schools.  His responsibilities included orchestrating the daily delivery requirements for 20+ locations.  This service was the ‘life line’ to the schools for all supplies, payroll, distribution, printing, equipment and furniture.  He worked with the drivers and they did a superb job of keeping the schools supplied. 

In 2001, the school district needed to reduce expenses so the idea was put on the table to eliminate one of the two delivery driver positions.  This required a drastic change in service and placed the onus of all deliveries on one driver.  We came up with a delivery schedule that would allow one driver to service all the locations.

Before making the final decision to eliminate the delivery vehicle driver position, we conducted a trial run of the new schedule and planned on running it for five days.  At the end of the second day Terry came to see me.  He explained that the loading dock was being maxed out as items stockpiled waiting for delivery.  As a result, each time the driver came to take a load it required a lot of heavy lifting.  The consistent heavy lifting requirements were taking a toll on the driver as he had little time to physically recover between each delivery.  

Terry expressed concern that while the driver would continue to try to make this new schedule work, eventually the physical requirement would catch up with him and he would have an accident.   

Terry was right.  I should’ve anticipated this problem and if the change had gone into effect we would have had an accident.  Terry helped avoid doing something stupid.  Shortly thereafter, the remainder of the trial was cancelled and the elimination of a delivery driver position was removed from the budget discussions.

For this type of feedback to come forward several conditions have to be in place.  Mutual trust has to be present, otherwise the feedback won’t come and skepticism about the feedback can creep in.  The leader has to be willing to listen to the comments and be prepared to act on them even though the comments sting.  There must be a common expectation that when the situation calls for feedback, the person is going to come forward and the leader is going to receive the comments gracefully and with appreciation.

This is easier said than done.  It takes commitment and openness to develop trust. The leader must be genuinely receptive to negative feedback.   By taking these actions, the leader can get help to avoid doing something stupid.

I worked with Terry an additional nine years and deeply appreciated the feedback he provided and the trust he placed in me.

You Have to be Allowed to Fail in Order to Grow

I watched the 75 ROTC cadets form up in preparation to march down the dirt road as part of a field training exercise in 1994.  Their cadet leader, Ted Lee, thought he knew where he was going but he hadn’t reconed the route beforehand to make sure.  I was responsible for developing Lee and the other college seniors who were about to be commissioned as Second Lieutenants in the U.S. Army.  Off everyone went following Lee down the wrong road. 

After walking about ½ a mile I saw Lee looking around for the training site and getting noticeably anxious when he couldn’t locate it.  He stopped the group, sought me out and asked if I knew where we were.  I reminded him that as a future officer it was his responsibility to know his location.  Lee gave me the 1,000 yard stare and was clearly confused about what he should do next.

After a couple of minutes I began to coach Lee by asking him what aids he had to help him find his location.  He pulled out his map.  When I asked him about his compass, Lee responded he hadn’t brought it along.   The group looking to him to figure out what to do was getting him more rattled by the moment. 

As adults we learn by trial and error and this means being unsuccessful at times.  In order to develop employees they need to be given the opportunity to grow using this method of trial and error and to be allowed to fail. This process is not without costs.  It is hard to stand by and watch someone go down the wrong road and be willing to pay the consequences.  However, giving someone the opportunity to be unsuccessful will reimburse itself many times over as employees enhance their skills and return even greater value to the company.

Lee figured out where he was and moved the group to the training site.  After that incident he could be seen rehearsing the next route with map and compass in hand.  I doubt as an Army Officer Lee ever went to the field without making sure he knew where he was going.

Leaders Need to be Brave

I have a favorite coffee mug.  When I use it, I am reminded of a brave leader, Linda Samel. 

Our paths crossed about 10 years ago when Linda took over the food service program for the school district.  It was mid-year and she was moving from running a single school food service operation to managing the district’s food service program consisting of 20 schools.

Linda was a humble and quiet person who always thought the best of people.  She was uncomfortable being in the spotlight and always gave credit to others when the light shined her way.

The new position was a leap for Linda.  It required managing a complex two million dollar enterprise operation, leading 90 food service employees, forecasting a program a year in advance and understanding the complex needs of the school district.

These challenges were significant but the biggest one for Linda was making the tough decisions that involved food service staff and their livelihoods. Linda had come up through the food service program and knew many of these employees personally.  She identified with them, a difficult position for a leader.

In spite of her trepidation, Linda faced all of the challenges without hesitation.  She gathered information, talked to the staff and then moved resolutely toward decision making.  Linda delivered bad news in person. Given her nature, it was difficult for her to make the decisions affecting staffing but she knew it was what her job required and she didn’t shy from the responsibility.  Linda was a brave leader.

As I worked with Linda I appreciated her deep concern for students she had developed during her career in food service.  Linda was committed to helping children be successful by giving them good food to eat, both appetizing and nutritious.  She knew that school meals were keeping some students from going hungry. Linda’s concern for students was her motivation to help overcome any personal challenges she faced.

Linda made the decision to leave school food service.  She left on her own terms and without any reservation about her commitment to the students.  We were also sorry to see her go but we felt we were better at our jobs for having the opportunity to serve with her. 

Leaders need to do what is right, not what is easy.  Members of the group or employees expect leaders to be brave.  This is not an option if the leader wants to foster credibility and trust.  Leaders need to have the courage to make the tough call; to be like a rock in the river when the current is pushing hard.  

Linda was brave when facing her last and final challenge. She gave me the coffee mug as on office present one year for Christmas.  Every time I use the mug I draw inspiration from Linda’s example. 

Walking the Talk Key to Being Credibile

As a Second Lieutenant in the Army in the mid 70’s I was privileged to know First Sergeant (1SG) Willie Crowe.  He had a small stature and spoke very softly with an accent that reflected his rural Florida roots. He spoke in a quiet and concise manner but when he spoke everyone listened.  His troops respected him, even the soldiers who screwed up.

Upon my arrival to the unit, 1SG Crowe took it upon himself to train me.  He showed me how to inspect equipment, the barracks and the mess hall and how to evaluate training. At the end of my training 1SG Crowe told me that I needed to figure what was important to me and how I would demonstrate that to the soldiers. He said soldiers would observe me and draw their own conclusions about what was important and if they could trust me enough to follow me. 

1SG Crowe’s message struck a chord with me.  Talking about what is important is not enough.  You have to ‘walk the talk’.  Mark Twain said it well, “Actions speak louder than words, just not as often.” I took that advice to heart and tried to figure out if my priorities were consistent with my actions.  I asked others for their input.  It was tough to hear when I was told my actions didn’t match up with my statements.

Understanding what is important to a leader along with demonstrating that consistently over time and across situations is fundamental to gaining followers.  The leader in choosing to say something is important must set out to demonstrate that it is actually important.  Here are a couple of examples. 

Providing great customer service requires the owner to be personally involved with this process.  The staff needs to see the leader modeling how to interact with customers, to receive coaching on better ways to service customers and to be recognized for providing customer service well. Saying customer service is important and then disappearing into the office with little customer interaction tells employees that customer service is really not important.

Wanting feedback as the boss is much easier said than done.  Challenges exist to getting this accomplished – fear of telling the boss bad news and the requirement to follow through. If the leader truly wants feedback there are steps that have to be taken – build effective relationships with employees, control your reaction to negative information and follow up in a timely manner to resolve problems identified as a result of the feedback.  This may include a need for the leader to change a behavior.  This is a lot of work but not completing these steps will tell employees that the leader is not serious about receiving feedback.

Before deciding what is important, leaders need to ask themselves how they are going to demonstrate that importance.  As a result of doing this a leader may be confronted by the reality of not being able ‘to walk the talk’ because of too many competing demands.  If that happens, the leader should ask if it is truly important.  Trying to cut corners by not demonstrating the importance will undermine the leader’s credibility and the trust the leader needs from their followers.  What is important should be captured in a short and simple list and be communicated and demonstrated consistently.  Otherwise, it is difficult for others to follow.

I ran into 1SG Crown many years later.  He had been promoted to Division Command Sergeant Major, a very senior position.  He hadn’t changed a bit.  He had a junior officer in tow and he was instructing her about the role of officers.