Productivity" ended up being unhappy. He was miffed at the "suggestion that one should find the culprit of a lapse that is capable of destroying the company." First I am honored that at least a Nigerian employer was provoked to kick against an attempt to expose the weakness in a certain leadership style. We had attempted to analyze some leadership styles last week with the objective of identifying the leakages in the productivity of our leaders.
For those who missed that piece or did not pay enough attention to the issues raised, let us do a recap. There are different types of leaders with regard to overcoming challenges. There are the fault-finders, the blamers and the solution seekers. While these may not be absolutely distinct, there are major tendencies that leaders exhibit along these three attitudes.
Leaders who are quick to find faults in everything are a tough nut to crack. They are like diehard internal auditors who claim that their job is only to find variances. Their thought patterns are reflected in the following quotations:
"Who did this?" "I must know the fellow responsible for this mess before we can get out of it." "This assignment is too crucial. This is why I will personally monitor you to ensure that you do not mess up as usual" etc.
The truth is that such negative statements are not capable of bringing out the best in followers. A tendency towards negative perspective of issues injures productivity. Fault-finding is an emotional journey that will not produce results. We can solve a problem by focusing on the issues (often times the persons show up willingly in this process without feeling condemned) with open minds.
The second leadership tendency is buck-passing. Blamers are always passing the buck. Blamers can be heard making statements such as, "I am sure it is the Head of Operations who bungled this assignment", "All my staff members are nonentities", "If I can replace all these laggards who I employed, my business will flourish." Ironically, the man who, with his eyes wide open and his brain functioning as a leader employed or tolerates "nonentities" and "laggards" has no business complaining when the chips are down. If only he can take full responsibility for the misfortune of his business, he would be more productive.
The most productive leaders are the solution seekers. They are focused on solving problems and not hitting those responsible for the problems. While we do not posit that offenders should not be sanctioned or punished, the focus of management should be on the realization of the goals of the organization. How you exert energy is as important as what you exert the energy on.
The reader who introduced himself as a "leader of hundreds of men and women" reacted sharply to the statement below: "Who did this?" "I must know the fellow responsible for this mess before we can get out of it." "This assignment is too crucial. This is why I will personally monitor you to ensure that you do not mess up as usual" etc. The truth is that such negative statements are not capable of bringing out the best in followers. A tendency towards negative perspective of issues injures productivity. Fault finding is an emotional journey that will not produce results. We can solve a problem by focusing on the issues (often times the persons show up willingly in this process without feeling condemned) with open minds.'
In his opinion, "the theory X and theory Y cannot be ignored in managing people. Though some workers are very good, others are stubborn goats possessed with the demon of destruction. If you do not identify such people and flush them out of your system they will pollute the few good ones." The leader poured out his mind.
"The first place to start solving a problem is to identify who is responsible for the problem." He continued: "I agree that some wicked workers will not own up and that is why a leader must be brutal with unscrupulous staff!"
I immediately lost my appetite for lunch that afternoon. I could not believe that a self-confessed leader will admit that only a few people are good among the hundreds of men and women that he purportedly leads. First, I did not see a leader in him. I saw a slave master. Secondly, listening to him made me realize that he had a right to search for the culprits in his establishment. The unfortunate thing, however, is that he was too arrogant to apprehend the chief culprit: himself. If "only a few workers are good" among the hundreds of men and women, then the recruitment policy and procedure of the organization is faulty. There is certainly a need to redress the foundation.
I fervently believe that erring staff members should be sanctioned in accordance with the company's laid-down policy. However, an organization should have in-built systems that throw up the lapses of the staff and the organization's procedure without an individual intimidating people into admitting their errors. It is important to reiterate that leaders who want to boost their productivity will need to position themselves as solution providers and not hunters of offenders.
The leader will do well to maximize his time by focusing on high impact activities and not chasing shadows. This can be done through instituting a clear-cut policy that encourages performance. Secondly, the leader needs to embrace regular training on how to manage human resources. The training may include crisis management skills as well as analysis of problems. An understanding of what is important and relevant is key if the leader wants to maximize his time. Often times, leaders engage themselves in physical activities that add little or no value to the overall objectives of the organization. Yet, there is nobody in the organization who is saddled with the responsibility of strategic thinking and networking. Please do not laugh if you discover that a lot of CEOs of organizations with staff strength of over 50 people are personally involved in buying diesel at the gas station. This is their own way of cutting cost! For more info, contact me on opeyemi4gold@gmail.com
