IT'S ALL ABOUT LEADERSHEEP!

2/18/11

So it’s that time of year again.  Yes – for those fortunate enough to be included, it’s “Bonus” time.  The yearly results are in; the measures of success have been taken; and it’s time to spend (or save) what you’ve been counting on.  But……I have noticed a disturbing trend over the last few years and this year is no different.

 

Several of my friends have spoken to me about being surprised, in a negative way, by their final bonus results.  How can this happen?  What’s going on?  On one level, the answer is really easy – the goal posts are moving.  The year starts with clear and measurable objectives, but over the course of the year, or sometimes even after the year is done, they get changed.  And they get changed arbitrarily, often without any communication.  (Now there are times that objectives should change – for example, if a salesperson is given a new account mid-year, their objectives should be revised to reflect that.  But the process should be transparent and inclusive).

 

Notwithstanding the moving goal posts, what is really going on, at a deeper level, is a lack of integrity and leadership.  And please understand, this isn’t happening in all businesses, or even in most, but it is happening in too many, and in businesses you would never expect to operate that way.

 

You see, in most organizations, bonus plans are controlled by a relatively small group of very senior people.  And occasionally, because of the blind pursuit of results, or an inherent bias – a senior leader makes an arbitrary and unplanned adjustment.  And that is precisely when their colleagues, whether alongside or working directly for them in their unit, stop practicing leadership.  Leadership, in this situation, is reminding the decision maker that a commitment has been made based on good faith, that the results are the results, and that this is about integrity.  Leadership isn’t about saluting a flawed decision and spinning it to your people – that’s what I call leadersheep. 

 

A leader’s job isn’t to make an absence of integrity palatable; or to simply be a conduit for stress or unreasonable demands placed upon them by higher-ups.  A leader who truly demonstrates leadership eliminates barriers their people encounter in trying to meet their objectives; they insulate their team from unreasonable stress and demands; they influence or even intervene in decisions that are flawed or just plain wrong.  And if they are unsuccessful in accomplishing this, well - real leaders have an honest discussion with their people and they take steps to ensure it won’t happen again.

 

It’s a sad thing to say – but I think we have too many leaders, in too many organizations, demonstrating leadersheep rather than leadership.  So if you are a leader, be vigilant to ensure that leadersheep doesn’t creep in to your behavior; and if you are not a leader, find a way to remind your leader what real leadership is.

 (see “A Million and One Ways to be One-in-a-Million”; Chapter 2 – The Gift and Chapter 3 – Luke…Use the Force)