Managing Leadership^®

A recent survey conducted by the Florida State University College of Business suggests that fully 20% to 40% of employees suffer from bad behavior from bosses (see the article). While this is a survey of employees only, it is instructive to review the extent and nature of the problem they report.

The specific behaviors these employees describe range from a failure to keep promises (the worst offender, at 39%) to blaming others to cover up the boss’s mistakes (the other end of the scale, at 23%). In between are found managerial infractions such as failure to give due credit and criticizing employees to others.

Along the same line is a familiar problem of managers (and employees) hiding behind technology, especially email, for their communication. One company (see article) has addressed the problem by declaring email off-limits one day a week, and strongly encouraging face-to-face (or, at least, telephone) discussions in place of electronic messages whenever possible. The result has been an increase in productivity and energy so striking that customers have noted and rewarded it.

This may seem a little surprising, inasmuch as we have come to see the expanded reach such technology provides as a productivity enhancer. It is, but it cannot be allowed to become a crutch, and it cannot be allowed to displace our responsibility as managers to manage each of our resources in the most appropriate manner. This aspect of the issue is an interesting one that we will address in due course; for now, please read the article, linked above, for a decent review of why this approach has worked for this company.

The connection between this issue and the FSU survey results is in the tendency managers have to find means or excuses for evading their responsibilities. This can result from the sheer pressure on their time from the demands of their own work, to personal characteristics that lean toward introverted behavior or impersonal approaches to work, to simple immaturity (over 1/5 of managers being reported as having attempted to avoid criticism for mistakes by blaming them on employees can hardly be described otherwise).

Managing is a challenging endeavor that requires us to properly determine our responsibilities and to address them directly. These responsibilities extend beyond the merely quantifiable aspects of operations, finance, and even of human resources. They reach deeply into the issue of managing the leadership inherent in our organizations, and in the environments in which they operate.

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