By now you must realize that there's always some kind of method to my madness. You didn't think I'd go to the effort of copying and pasting all those leadership quotes just to plop them on the page and ignore them did you? Of course, I have to add my two cents to them. So, let's start with President Eisenhower:
- I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I
have persuaded him he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as
long as he is scared, and then he is gone.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
A lot of managers try to intimidate their staff into doing what they want them to do. I think that is because they don't really believe in them self or in what they are asking people to do. If a leader feels inadequate, like she has no impact on the people she is leading, she will be ineffective. Then, out of fear, frustration or both, she will lean heavily on them, micro-manage and intimidate them to get the performance from them she desires. She may get it for a while, but she will need to return to the same behavior the next time she wants something. This not only undermines her leadership, it causes her staff to stagnate and eventually leave. If she tries to scare them into doing what she wants they will resent her.
Sometimes managers resort to intimidation out of desperation. I had an employee that I had tried everything with to encourage her to grow in her position. When I could think of nothing else I said, "I'm concerned that if you don't do better, you'll lose your job." In my mind I told myself that I was trying to let her see how serious the situation was. In my heart I know I was trying to scare her a little. She would put forth a new surge of effort and things would be better for a while, then she would go back to her set-point of performance. Employees impose this set-point on themselves when they have no desire to keep improving. She told me that she had done it in so many words, "I'm as good as I'm going to get." Next time I'll believe those words. I was desperate to help her save her job when I should have been more interested in releasing her from something she wasn't suited for and finding someone who was. It is the leader's responsibility to recognize when the situation has deteriorated past saving and to respond wisely, without intimidation so that the remaining staff can feel confident in you. That's how you get a sticky staff.
By now you must realize that there's always some kind of method to my madness. You didn't think I'd go to the effort of copying and pasting all those leadership quotes just to plop them on the page and ignore them did you? Of course, I have to add my two cents to them. So, let's start with President Eisenhower:
A lot of managers try to intimidate their staff into doing what they want them to do. I think that is because they don't really believe in them self or in what they are asking people to do. If a leader feels inadequate, like she has no impact on the people she is leading, she will be ineffective. Then, out of fear, frustration or both, she will lean heavily on them, micro-manage and intimidate them to get the performance from them she desires. She may get it for a while, but she will need to return to the same behavior the next time she wants something. This not only undermines her leadership, it causes her staff to stagnate and eventually leave. If she tries to scare them into doing what she wants they will resent her.
Sometimes managers resort to intimidation out of desperation. I had an employee that I had tried everything with to encourage her to grow in her position. When I could think of nothing else I said, "I'm concerned that if you don't do better, you'll lose your job." In my mind I told myself that I was trying to let her see how serious the situation was. In my heart I know I was trying to scare her a little. She would put forth a new surge of effort and things would be better for a while, then she would go back to her set-point of performance. Employees impose this set-point on themselves when they have no desire to keep improving. She told me that she had done it in so many words, "I'm as good as I'm going to get." Next time I'll believe those words. I was desperate to help her save her job when I should have been more interested in releasing her from something she wasn't suited for and finding someone who was. It is the leader's responsibility to recognize when the situation has deteriorated past saving and to respond wisely, without intimidation so that the remaining staff can feel confident in you. That's how you get a sticky staff.