Page 100 - The extraordinary leader

Simplifying Leadership • 77

Consider the case of an older supervisor in a manufacturing plant.
He has received no training on how to manage people effectively. His
behavior is patterned after the way he was treated by his supervisors.
When an employee makes a mistake, this supervisor chastises him,
sometimes in public. Often the erring employee may be threatened
with potential discipline or termination if such mistakes continue. If a
change needs to be implemented, the supervisor says what must now
be done, but with no explanation of why. This supervisor would never
solicit ideas and opinions from the employee group. Turnover is
higher in this supervisor’s area, productivity is below average, labor
grievances are more frequent, and upper management recognizes that
this supervisor must change. But how? Isn’t this behavior part of this
supervisor’s character? Short of extensive psychotherapy, how could
this be changed?
Our experience is that the most sure-fire way to bring about
behavioral change is to have this supervisor participate in a training
process that provides a new mind-set or way of thinking and then
teaches new behaviors and skills. The supervisor is not told how he
must think and feel, but simply is told that there is good evidence of a
better way to behave. He learns how to describe a problem in a calm,
rational way to an employee, to ask for the employees’ ideas about
how to solve it, and to agree jointly on the best way to proceed. The
supervisor discovers that this works wonders. The same or better
results are achieved with a great deal less anger. His relationships with
his employees improve significantly. They greet him like a friend, not
the enemy. His attitudes toward his subordinates become less
adversarial. He is open to new ideas that previously would have been
instantly rejected. His character changes. Why? Because his behavior
changed, and people make their attitudes conform to their behavior.
That principle is extremely well documented in social psychology
research. It is also true, however, that it becomes a circular pheno-
menon. As attitudes improve, behavior begins to change as a result.
2. Character also affects the cluster labeled Focus on Results, but
possibly in a less obvious way. People around the leader are often
sensitive to perceived motives for doing things. If the focus on results
is for reasons of self-aggrandizement, to look good to a boss, to further
a political career in the firm, or for any other perceived selfish reason,
then personal character detracts from any successful drive for results.