Why do some people in leadership roles feel the need to manage with fire and brimstone? Is there a benefit to this iron-handed method of establishing dominance and letting everyone know “who’s boss”? Is it all just posturing for the power hungry?
This type of leadership is both an abuse of (perceived) power, and frankly, awfully ineffective. A real leader derives authority naturally, not from a title or a position.
What would happen if managers took a step back to examine how others see them?
They might realize that fear and subservience do NOT equal loyalty, and leading from a place of dominance (instead of encouragement or collaboration) only yields the bare minimum effort, and worse, fosters disdain and dissent.
If team members are supposed to be the ones getting all of the work done, driving solutions and coming up novel ideas, what does it say if the leader doesn’t seem to care about the team?
People in leadership roles of all kinds should constantly be aware of how they are seen. Do your team members look forward to your presence, or duck out of sight when they see you coming?
Leaders are supposed to pull the best work from their teams through inspiration and motivation, not through intimidation and the crack of the proverbial whip.
What is the best example of leadership you’ve seen in your organization?
Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.
Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
