Managing managers' egos | Managing Leadership

Musical egos

As we saw in yesterday’s post, politics is an unavoidable - and in truth, a necessary - part of life at work. But a difficulty in practicing it positively, or even merely in assuming the magisterial baton of management, lies in the disorienting effects of being placed in authority over others.

Some handle it well; some less well. Consider this piece from Business Week, describing how where you sit in a business meeting determines your authority and influence in the organization. Indeed, scholars of this sort of thing claim to have discovered a pattern to how various types of juniors (toadies, conscientious advisors, passive followers) array themselves around the central figure in such a setting. Moreover, some such “experts” presume to offer advice on how to use such knowledge to seat yourself - or your staff - around the conference table in order to maximize your influence.

The problem only inflates with the increasingly rarified air of top management. In fact, as Carol Hymowitz points out in her latest WSJ In the Lead column, some CEOs consciously work to brand themselves as marketable entities distinct from those they nominally serve. Some get away with it, but most only damage themselves, and their organizations with them.

A recent journal article, reported in The Economist, discusses the problem of the great leader gone bad. The author attempts to explain how executives that seem genuinely to be the real thing can become corrosive influences under the pressure of stressful events. However, he offers little practical advice on how to avoid this fate, or how to deal with a manager who is succumbing to it.

But some firms believe they may have an antidote: require executives to do some time in the trenches with line staff. According to another WSJ item, this growing movement is intended to reduce the disorienting effects of high command by developing empathetic leaders who are in touch with their employees and customers where contact between the two is made.

By all means, make the effort. But it might be worthwhile to ask what makes such exceptional efforts necessary. Does it result from hiring managers from MBA programs rather than from the ranks? Or from bringing senior executives in from outside the firm or industry instead of promoting from within?

The seats around the table become fewer as you climb the career ladder. The question is not merely what kind of person manages to grab one when the music stops, but what kind of music is being played to motivate them to do so. It is an example of the inseparability of an organization’s character and that of its senior management. Unfortunately, it is typically a pernicious one.

What kind of music moves your feet?

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