Is it time to leave the organisation?

In both the nonprofit and for profit sectors of business, an organization cannot thrive unless it has strong leadership throughout, but especially at the top.

In any organization there is a founder and sometimes this founder has a way of creating problems for the organization because they are not ready to step down when it is their time to do so. They have a sense of where they want the organization to go, and they stay until it is almost too late.

Every one of us has a purpose, and it’s important for a leader who is also a founder to recognize theirs and appreciate there may come a point in the growth and development of the business where it’s time to step down and let new leadership come in and take the organisation through the next phase.

Some will fight this, or ignore their true strengths and attempt to carry on.  A few will try and manipulate the process so that it becomes more single minded than shared.  When this happens, you no longer have a leader, but someone who is attempting to make the organization into something they own.

Strong leadership understands that being a leader is about developing not only their skills but the skills of others in their organization. As the old cliché says, Rome wasn’t built in a day and organizations are not built with out the help of strong leadership at the helm.

Sometimes leaders found an organization and drive it for awhile, but are afraid to turn it over to others because they don’t have the same vision.  However, strong leaders have the ability to communicate their vision to others in the organizations and rally them around the purpose and mission.

There is a point in all organizations when leadership needs to change or step down.  When you own an organization that you have built from the beginning, you have to assess it at every interval. There comes the time when you are no longer the best person for the job, and this is the time when it is time to step down.

All leaders face this at one time or another and it is nothing to be ashamed of but it does take courage to do.  Allowing others to take the vision and run with it can be difficult, but the better leaders understand that for the good of the company, this is what needs to happen.  And stepping down doesn’t mean stepping out.  Remember what makes you good at what you do.  Someone who has built something from scratch has a wealth of experience they can share whether it’s mentoring other start ups, developing written material etc.  Whatever happens, it is a very positive step in their leadership and the continued success of something they gave birth to, and nurtured along the way.

Are they with you?

People keep asking me, “what do you think is happening given the current economic situation, what do you think leaders need to pay attention to?”

There are several things, but today I’m going to touch on one.  You need to remember that it’s better to have people working with you than for you.  And it’s even more important when making and communicating decisions that you remember they’re people and not human resources.  They may well interpret your words and actions in ways you hadn’t foreseen.  They’ll be influenced by the media / their peers / sources you may or may not be aware of.  Fear and scarcity are sources of motivation and the media are currently banging that drum very well.  A workforce driven by fear is nowhere near as valuable as one driven by a mission, a desire to be there, to work with you.  Choice is a valuable component.  Now just before you go, yes I know this, cor how flippin obvious/basic/apple pie, take a moment to check just how much of this are you putting in to practice, and would those who work with you agree?  If there was such a thing a a fear-o-meter where would the needle be?

If you need to make redundancies who do you need to re-engage and how soon can you do it?  Putting it another way if you over look this, or do it badly, you build a wave of disillusionment and insecurity that can spread.

Right now what needs to be re-enforced – the vision, the immediate goals, the behaviours that will give you agility and resilience…???

Dealing with a difficult leader

This term is kind of an oxymoron because you should not have a difficult leader in your organization. Usually, this is a challenge for managers because leaders are specifically in an organization to help move it forward.

When you have a difficult leader it may be that they have just been promoted and they have a certain way of managing that doesn’t work when they become a leader.  They may have to be shown the difference, you can’t just rely on them working it out for themselves.  A difficult leader can be a detriment to your organization because they will turn other employees off and will cause problems for other leaders.  They will also create problems with customers because they act as if they do not care about their needs.

Usually these difficult leaders see themselves as in charge of people and are to be considered the boss of their area.  They’ve been used to managing, so their first style of leadership is usually ‘telling’. Good leaders understand that although they may have the title of boss, they actually are as much a part of a team as anyone else. They also understand that their team performs better when they are included in decisions.

When you encounter a difficult boss, it is a good lesson in tolerance and patience.  Although they are the head of your department, they are not above everyone else.  You can approach this in a positive way or negative way, the choice is yours.

Here are some simple ideas to deal with a difficult leader:

Keep emotions under control — when something happens in an office most people want to react and show their emotions.   Usually they get angry in the situation, but this is the worst thing you can do with a boss.  Instead, get your emotions under control and approach the situation in a calm assertive manner.

Keep track of situations – if you are upset about specific things in your department, make a list of these things.  Keep track of them with time and date so that you have collected data instead of going towards emotional outbursts.  You will be able to present this list in a business like manner.

Deal with criticism positively – when a boss criticizes you, use it as an opportunity to be more creative.  Look for ways to do your job more effectively and take opportunities to improve in the areas that the boss suggests.

Change what you can, accept what you can’t change — there is no way for you to change another person.  Accept that you can’t change them, but you can change yourself or your job.

Know when it is time to go — at some point in everyone’s life there comes a time when it is time to leave a job and go somewhere else.   If you are miserable under the poor leadership of this boss, it is time to look for something different.