“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.” – Colin Powell

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we ran this place like an actual business?”

I was sitting in the cafeteria of a Fortune 500 company. With me were a couple of members of the internal planning team. They were frustrated.

Most of my work is with owners, executives, and boards. But every now and then, I’m asked to work with leaders in the middle. Over the years, I’ve noticed that they wrestle with a common challenge. One that is often discouraging. It frequently limits or even prevents success.

It’s a challenge that they often feel at a loss to address.

The challenge? The boss.

When the Leader Gets in the Way

Complaining about the boss (or bosses) is probably as old as work. I take these comments with a grain or three of salt.

But any consistent theme is worth exploring. Here are some of the most common ones:

• We don’t understand why.
• We are being asked to do extra work / take extra steps that don’t seem to add value.
• We have to go to meetings that don’t provide value.
• We don’t have the resources needed to get the job done.
• We are asked to do things that take more time, effort, and people than our leaders appreciate.
• We don’t know what (the leaders) think about our work or about us (no feedback or input).
• We (or members of the team) aren’t kept accountable.
• We don’t feel like our leaders are fighting the right battles on our behalf.

It’s Not Complaining. It’s Unheard Feedback.

Reading through the list above, something stands out: These people want to succeed. But they feel friction and they associate that friction with leadership.

Their diagnosis may or may not be accurate. But the experience is real.

Many leaders, even conscientious and caring ones, are simply not aware of the challenges their people face. If they become aware, they often react dismissively or defensively. And, to be frank, too many leaders are just being precious.

In my experience, employees in the middle sometimes have the most accurate perspective regarding internal operations. These are the folks who are responsible for translating direction into action. They shuttle reports and feedback up and down the chain. They are in it.

Emperor, Put on Your Clothes

When I coach executive leaders, I include a 360 review process. The leader is always asked to conduct a self-assessment as well. I am interested in the input that comes back. But something I watch closely for is how aligned a leader’s self-perception is with the perception of others.

This is because the more accurately a leader sees him or herself – the more effective they tend to be. This is true even if they score low in a particular area. An accurate perspective can contribute to greater success than being “strong” in every area.

Unfortunately, research shows the more power and authority a leader develops, the more likely that they begin to act like the emperor in Hans Christian Anderson’s story. That is, they allow themselves to believe that they are wearing the finest clothing – when in fact everyone can see they are naked (but no one wants to say anything about it).

Successful leadership largely hinges on the ability to maintain an accurate and honest perspective. This allows leaders to understand how they are experienced and what is happening within their organization. When you can see clearly, you can act accurately.

Seven Suggestions to Help You See Clearly Enough to Improve Things for Your Team:

1. Model the behaviors of humility and respect: People often don’t report problems because they don’t know what will happen if they do. Create an environment where people feel safe to bring problems to you. As Colin Powell said, if they stop bringing problems to you, you probably have stopped leading.
2. Talk to your team / 360’s: There are various ways to do this, but the important thing is to make a personal and organizational habit of cultivating open and honest feedback loops on how others experience the decisions and actions of leaders.
3. “Directive journeys”: In marketing, there is a concept called the “customer’s journey”. This is a process of exploring what the full customer experience is like. In leadership, I encourage something called the “directive’s journey”. Follow a directive as it leaves the C-suite and works its way down to the front line. Then follow the reporting as it works its way back up to you. You’ll discover how often this is like a game of telephone.
4. Actively solicit input or “feedforward” from others: I often encourage leaders to regularly seek suggestions from their team around specific goals. This can be as simple as, “We are trying to accomplish X. What are one or two suggestions for how we could make real progress in this area over the next month?” This input can be transformative.
5. Be purposeful: Every meeting, function, and initiative should have and accomplish a clear purpose. Make sure you know exactly what you hope to accomplish in what you do. Make sure others understand the purpose as well.
6. Explain why: Leaders are often so wrapped up in “why” that they often forget that it may not be obvious to others. Make a habit out of explaining and reexplaining “why”.
7. Clarify impact: Employees, especially those in support positions, often can’t see their impact. They don’t know how what they are doing fits or contributes.

I have helped many leaders and their organizations dramatically improve their effectiveness. A starting point is always getting a clearer and more honest picture of what is going on. This takes courage and humility.

But those are the traits of excellent leaders.

Take good care,

Christian

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