This post is by contributor Jennifer V. Miller, managing partner of SkillSource and author of the blog The People Equation. Connect with Jennifer on Twitter @JenniferVMiller and SkillSource on Facebook.
Bill, an executive at a large company, made an impromptu appearance at a department meeting attended by 30 employees. He gave a rousing pep-talk that concluded with “I’ll support your decision to say ‘no’ to non-value-added projects.” With that, he departed to refrains of “Thanks, Bill!”
Here’s the part Bill didn’t see — the cynical comments making the rounds later that day: “So, what do you think Bill will say when I tell him ‘no’ to one of his pet projects? Like he’ll really ‘support’ me — he’s the King of Non-Value-Added Projects!”
Bill’s story highlights how a leader’s reality can be vastly different than that of his workforce. Most leaders think they’re in tune with their employees, but in many cases, they overestimate just how “plugged in” they really are. In Bill’s mind, he was being approachable and supportive. In contrast, others saw his remarks as disingenuous.
According to new research, Bill’s not the only leader who has a perception problem. A poll conducted by Maritz Research revealed that only 11% of employees “strongly agree” their managers show consistency between their words and actions. Because employees judge their leaders’ trustworthiness largely by the consistency of words and deeds, this lack of congruence spells trouble for a leader’s credibility.
Why does this happen?
For one, it’s because there are multiple “realities” in any organization, depending on the role that one plays. Executives face the reality of bringing in profits. Midlevel managers juggle competing demands of company and employee needs. Front-line supervisors and employees must continually show productivity increases. There’s no one single “reality,” so effective leaders must know how to tap into the mood of all the players to stay tuned in.
How plugged in are you? Use this reality check to find out. Can you:
- Write an e-mail without using a single buzzword? Words like “actionable” and “incentivized” make employees roll their eyes, and in the process, create distance between the leader and the reader.
- Name at least five challenges your front-line employees currently face, and what’s being done to resolve them? No? Then it’s time to go out and learn about it firsthand.
- List three examples of an employee productively disagreeing with you in the past month? If not, then people aren’t speaking up enough. This may signal that you are stifling conversation, which may lead to differences in perception of a situation’s reality.
- Describe how a major company initiative will benefit not only outside stakeholders and customers, but the employees as well? If the focus is always on the external aspects of your company, employees will unplug and check out.
- Cite several examples of how your thinking has changed due to employee feedback? Coming up short? Then it’s possible that there’s a gap between what you say about feedback and actually do to gain it.
“Reality” has many faces. Even the most attuned leaders have an occasional lapse in awareness. Leaders who build these five checkpoints into their daily practices stand a much better chance of staying in touch with reality, and in the process, building trustworthiness with their followers.
Image credit: Yuri_Arcurs via iStockphoto.com
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Hi Jennifer,
Challenging article because it's practical and measurable. Thank you.
The first thing that came to my mind is the leaders role in creating an organizational culture where people connect with each other and the boss in ways the encourage, enable, and give direction.
I guess thats another post.
Best,
Dan
Dan,
Yes, that's another post– and you are the person to write it!
Wow.
How do I get this to my bosses?
My day job is in retail. In fact, the largest retailer in the world. Been there 9 months (I think I'm ready to come out!). It's become too evident that what Jennifer describes here is what's happening at work. Lots of eye-rolling. Lots of cynicism.
Here's my personal challenge:
I am on the bottom of the food chain. Minimal organizational influence–and no power.
What I'm sensing is that God has put me here to teach me how to influence from the bottom and it's requiring a whole new skillset–no, a whole new MINDSET. I'm learning to turn the kinds of insights in this post upside-down in order to apply them.
In other words, I am learning to ask how *I* can grow and thrive and succeed in these conditions. How *I* can take ownership of my own attitudes and performance–despite actions from bosses that frequently undermine my performance. How can I stop whining and excusing and thrive in a sea of panic and cynicism.
I have a strong sense that learning to do these things will slingshot me to where I want to be.
What do you think?
Charles,
I think you're accepting responsiblity for only those actions you can completely control: your own. That's a great start. As Susan says (see below) the ownership for leadership rests with each individual. While it may be tempting to forward this post to people "up the food chain", it's probably way more productive to work on your own reality.
Thanks for your great comments and ruminations!
"Only 11% of employees “strongly agree” their managers show consistency between their words and actions" – WOW. What I particularly appreciate about your "reality check list" for managers here is that it puts responsibility for this condition right in the managers lap with observations that can directly lead to changes in their behavior.
You have me thinking about why the example you open with so familiar. There continues to be too much emphasis on telling rather than connecting when it comes to communication down the chain of command. The context seems to be "if I tell them what I believe and set the expectation so they can change their behavior". The emphasis is on "them" changing. Your checklist suggests the fundamental change in context required to close the gap in walking the talk that Ghandi so eloquently articulated: "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Excellent article Jennifer!
Thanks, Susan!
I know you're a big advocate of accountability– and this issue certainly has "accountability" written all over it!
Hi Jennifer,
Great post – I especially like how you provide some clear steps/measures leaders can take to assess how much of their perception of their organization is based on their own preconceptions and how much is a result of truly hearing and absorbing the insights/issues their employees bring to light.
I agree with Dan that the next step in this process is to move beyond the individual leader and make such efforts system-wide throughout the organization. After all, we have to note that as much as a leader's perception of reality can be limited to their perceptions or what they hear or are told, the same dilemma applies to employees as well.
So while a leader might be able to point out how in these various instances they changed their outlook/direction because of what their employees said, it's not necessarily a given that the employees will also have that awareness of how their input caused this shift.
Encouraging such outward looking/internal reflection among all employees will have to improve communications on all fronts because it encourages people to not simply rely on their assumptions but instead to challenge them to ensure they have the full picture in mind.
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