EVERY LEADER GETS THE TEAM THEY DESERVE
If you’ve been in your job for six months or more, and you’re still complaining about problem team members, then it’s likely you’re part of the problem.
At the root of every culture is the impact of a leader. Whatever you encourage becomes ‘the culture’.
My very first meeting as a consultant was with the CEO of a bank. I asked him “what’s the biggest challenge you face as a leader right now?” I noticed a red rash slowly making its way up his neck and onto his face as he rather aggressively replied “I don’t know why my f’ing people won’t take any f’ing initiative!”
If your team members avoid responsibility, it may be because they feel unsafe. If they don’t collaborate, it may be because you encourage internal competition. If they lack initiative, it may be because you’ve taught them to depend on you for all decisions.
Of course, it’s also possible that you have an underperforming or poorly behaving team member, but that’s still a leadership issue, however uncomfortable it might be to address. A consistently underperforming team member communicates to the rest of your team that you don’t value performance. Even worse, a poorly behaving team member communicates to the rest of your team that your values don’t matter.
When you are disappointed by the behaviour of your team members, the first question to reflect on is what might you be doing, or tolerating, to encourage that behaviour?
It’s a very high standard to hold yourself to for sure, but that’s why leadership is not for everybody.
INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS
“When things go wrong in your command, start searching for the reason in increasingly large circles around your own desk.” – Gen. Bruce Clarke
“No executive has ever suffered because their subordinates were strong and effective.” – Peter Drucker
QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON
- Where are you frustrated by the performance or behaviour of a team member?
- On reflection, what might you be doing, or tolerating, to encourage the behaviour that frustrates you?
- What could you do differently moving forward, to get the behaviour you want?
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