Dear Liz,
I am very conflicted about the nature of leadership. Over and over I hear stories of so-called 'great leaders' who accomplished great things, but also treated their team members like dirt. I don't understand how we can call someone a Great Leader if they were awful to work for. What's your take?
Thanks,
Spencer
Dear Spencer,
There are a number of ways to get into a leadership position. In the military, for example, you can get promoted over and over until eventually you are responsible for a lot of people. From what I understand, your ability to get promoted in the military is very dependent on your ability to get people to trust your judgment and follow you.
After all, if people won't follow you in the heat of battle, what kind of leader are you? At that moment, no one is thinking about your place or their place on the organizational chart.
You have the threat of punishment to use as a club, to get people to follow your orders, but if that's all you've got, you are a poor leader indeed.
It works the same way in the business world. People take jobs for many reasons, but one of the principal reasons most of us go to work is that we need to earn money. If we need money badly enough, we'll put up with a lot of abuse before we bail, even if our manager is unworthy of our respect.
I don't believe that anyone who berates, insults, talks down to or disrespects their team members can be called a great leader, no matter what they've accomplished. Fear is fear and trust is trust.
If you don't trust yourself enough to hire people you can trust and then to actually trust them to do what you hired them to do, you're no leader at all - you're a simple bully, albeit one with a big budget andlots of people to boss around.
All the best,
