Five Tips for Effective Leaders
By Susan Walberg, JD MPA CHC
If you have ever been in a leadership role, or worked in the corporate office of a large organization, you have undoubtedly encountered resistance from various departments, divisions, or individuals, whether passive or overt.
Keep in mind that the common perception of leadership, or ‘corporate’, is that ‘those people’ really don’t understand the real work that is getting done, and that the corporate initiatives take away their valuable time and resources. My experience has been in the healthcare field, but I believe these observations would hold true in many settings, because people are universally busy, and most people take pride in their work and don’t believe they need guidance (or interference) from above.
With that in mind, here are my tips for overcoming resistance and even gaining support:
1. I AM THE SERVANT, NOT THE MASTER. People in leadership or corporate roles get much further in engaging people across their organizations if they understand their own true role. The people in the trenches are the ones touching patients, building widgets, or doing whatever the real work is. They are the experts at what they do and how to do it. The role of corporate or leadership is to support that work. Leaders need to help solve problems, provide resources, and set the direction and standards for the organization. They should offer solutions and not mandates (sometimes mandates are necessary, due to laws or regulations, the lawyer in me has to acknowledge. But not in most cases). And if a mandate is necessary, a leader helps the team figure out the best way to implement it without unduly disrupting operations. The servant perspective shows in many ways, and people recognize and appreciate leaders who understand this.
2. RECRUIT DETRACTORS. There are always certain people who are outspoken in their rejection of your efforts, whether it’s a policy, a corporate initiative, or whatever. Once you identify those people (and it’s usually not difficult), ask them to help solve the problem or provide a leadership role in the initiative. If you defer to them as experts and involve them, they will become ‘owners’ and will become engaged. Note that some people can’t ever be converted…but most can!
3. THE MONKEYS ARE RUNNING THE ZOO. I heard this expression very early in my career, and it’s stuck with me, making me smile, but it has the ring of truth. Leaders need to involve stakeholders, but must also be willing to make a decision and know where to draw the line. It is easy to sit back and let the outspoken personalities in the organization take over. The danger is that those people don’t speak for everyone, and it is not their responsibility to make key decisions; it is yours. Letting organizational bullies and know-it-all employees run the show is a risk when leaders go too far in deferring to committees and key stakeholders. Employees see that, and evaluate your leadership abilities accordingly.
4. RESPECT. Employees need to feel respected, and they need to trust that you, as their leader, ‘have their back’. This shows up in a couple of ways. First of all, make sure that if your employees make a mistake you handle it privately. This may seem obvious, but sadly it’s not. If you embarrass them in a meeting because they forgot to send something out in advance, or missed a piece of information, they will remember that, even if nobody else in the room does. Sometimes people want to make sure that a lapse isn’t perceived as coming from them, so they make sure everyone knows who did it. Other times it just is a failure to think about the effect on the other person. But in either case, minimize the attention given to screw-ups in public, and make that a private conversation. The other aspect of this is in terms of defending your people. A leader will take the blame for a problem rather than pointing at a staff member. It’s far better to say, “I probably didn’t communicate well enough what we were looking for,” rather than “Jane was supposed to send that information to everyone.” Anyone listening will see what you just did, and will respect you for defending your employee. And the employee will trust you much more, and be loyal to you, when they know that it goes both ways.
5. LISTEN AND LEARN. Every article on leadership talks about communication for a good reason. A good leader keeps people informed on those things that are going on in the organization and in the industry, and explains why things need to get done the way they do. Leaders don’t hoard information that can be shared. Even more important, though, is listening. And to me, listening isn’t just hearing what someone is telling you, it is considering it. So if a manager tells you that something won’t work, you listen to what they are saying, you ask them to explain, and consider a different approach if it makes sense. True listening means being responsive so that people know they are being heard. It is also another way of respecting your employees.
People want leaders who listen and respect them, who provide support, and who involve them in solutions that improve the organization. People want to be part of the success. You can adopt a ‘command and control’ approach, and make people toe the line. You can assume you are smarter than they are and know best how they should do their jobs. But they won’t work for you, or with you, in the best way to enhance the success of the organization.