The following week Harry was able to meet with Ted. Ted was warm and friendly. The office had a warm feeling with lots of pictures on the walls that depicted Ted with groups of people. The caption under one of the pictures said, “To Ted…Thanks for Being a Great Boss!” Harry noticed that Ted sat in the chair next to him, rather than behind the big desk. Ted started off, “Harry it is a privilege to meet you. I remember reading a report you wrote about five years ago. It thought you did an excellent job.” Harry was surprised and felt awkward. He managed to say, “Thank you.” Ted continued, “Sharon gave me a call to let me know she was referring you to me. How can I help?”
Harry took a deep breath and ventured, “I told Sharon I was having some trouble in my position. It seems my employees do not like my leadership style. When I described it to Sharon, she referred to it as transactional. I’m not sure what that means, but I know I am not getting the results I want. I want to be a better leader, but I don’t know what to do at this point. Can you help?”
Ted nodded, “I’m impressed with your honesty. I would like to be a mentor for you. What do you know about mentoring?”
Harry, feeling more confident, responded, “Mentors are people who help others learn.[1] The mentor builds a relationship with the mentee and the two of them meet over time. The goal is to help the mentee solve problems and improve performance.[2]
“Wow,” exclaimed Ted, “that’s better than I expected. I see mentoring as a partnership where we both have expectations about the relationship.[3] This will take some time, are you willing to meet with me on a regular basis?” “You bet,” responded Harry feeling hopeful.
Ted continued, “Whether or not your leadership style improves is really up to you. I can only provide you with information, be a sounding board and challenge you to try new things. Are you willing to ask people you work with to provide you feedback to establish a benchmark, so we can see if their perception improves over time? It’s called a leadership assessment or 360° assessment.” “Yes, that sounds like a good idea,” said Henry.
“Great,” responded Ted. “You give me the names of subordinates, some peers and we will include Sharon too. I will coach you as to how to prepare your staff to provide meaningful feedback on the assessment, so you have some information to start this journey. Let’s meet again next week to talk about leadership.” “Ok, I would like that,” said Harry.
At the next meeting, Ted asked Harry to describe his leadership style. Harry responded in much the same way as with Sharon. Ted responded, “I want to help you build a leadership foundation upon which to reconsider how you lead. Here’s a Leadership Information Sheet (Attachment One – Leadership Information Sheet) I made up. Let’s review it together.”
When Ted and Harry met the next week, Ted asked, “So what did you think about the leadership information I provided you?” “Wow, what an eye-opener!” replied Harry. “I had no idea that it was so important to engage people in dialogue, empower them to make decisions or love them by caring about who they are.”
Ted smiled, “You aren’t alone. I recently read a book entitled, Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave. The author builds a compelling case that many of the reasons employees leave are a direct result of the action or inaction of their immediate supervisor or manager. Some of the reasons the author identifies are: too little coaching and feedback, too few growth and advancement opportunities, and feeling devalued or unrecognized.[4]”
“Yea,” commented Harry, and he sheepishly added, “That could explain why some of my best workers have left. I thought they were just mal-contents, but I’m beginning to think I was the problem.”
“You could be right, Harry. But, the important thing is that you recognized that you needed to improve your leadership style and have been willing to invest time and energy to change,” responded Ted. “Awareness is the first step to change. Based on the information you read, what are some steps you could take immediately that would help you get better results?”
“Hmm,” murmured Harry, “I could start by having staff meetings and sharing more information with my staff.” “That’s a good idea,” Ted said enthusiastically and he added, “Can you think of anything else?”
“I could also invite them to suggest ideas on a new project we will be starting next week,” replied Harry. “Ya know that could take some of the stress off me if they could provide some good ideas.”
“Harry, its possible your staff may be somewhat resistance to sharing ideas, because this will be a different experience for them,” warned Ted.
“I know,” Harry said wincingly. “I did share with my supervisors that I was getting some mentoring on how I could be more effective as a leader,” he added with more confidence.
“That was a bold step. How did they respond?” asked Ted.
Harry smiled, “They looked amused to say the least. However, one of them, Bob, came up later and confided that another supervisor who had been talking of leaving was thinking of waiting to see what happened.”
“That’s a good sign,” agreed Ted, but continued, “As you make changes, I encourage you to be consistent, but make adjustments as necessary based on the feedback you get. Over time, people will trust you more.” “I know…and I want that,” acknowledged Harry.
“One more thing,” added Harry, “I approved a training course for one of my people just earlier today. It was discretionary training, but I thought it would benefit both the individual and our work area. She seemed surprised, but was obviously pleased!”
“Investing in people is important,” reinforced Ted. “If you don’t see a connection with the job, ask the person how the training could benefit them and your team. They may have a logical reason that makes good sense.”
Six months passed and Harry was faithful in meeting with Ted. As Harry got positive reinforcement from his team, he continued to try new things at the encouragement of Ted. The results from second leadership assessment had just arrived.
“So Harry, what do you think about the written comments at the end of the assessment?” asked Ted. Harry paused for a minute before responding…taking in a deep breath he responded, “I am overjoyed to say the least! I had no idea people were watching me so close.”
“Would you be willing to share a few comments with me?” asked Ted.
Harry took a deep breath, “Well, my favorite is this one: ‘Harry isn’t the same manager. In the time since the first leadership assessment, he has become much more employee-oriented, he listens willingly, he is empathic to concerns voiced by staff, he asks for input regularly and has taken action on ideas that have merit. You could say that Harry has had an extreme makeover! Thanks Harry!” Harry stared at the report, afraid that if he looked away he the words on the page might slip away.
“Well,” replied Ted, “What outstanding feedback, Harry. Thank you for sharing that with me. How do you feel about it your progress?”
With a sparkle in his eye, Harry replied, “It feels great, Ted. I really appreciate the help! I don’t know how I can thank you for your support and encouragement over the past six months.”
Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. As the door opened, Jim Tallman, the company president stepped in. Ted acknowledged Jim, “Jim, thanks for coming down for a few minutes. I think you know Harry Hammer.” Jim vigorously shook Harry’s hand and commented, “It’s good to see you, Harry. Ted tells me you’re doing an outstanding job. I just wanted to stop by and say ‘Thank you’ for taking steps to be more effective as a leader.”
Harry, almost speechless, managed to say, “Thank you, sir.” Jim apologized for the interruption and dismissed himself to continue on to another meeting.
After the meeting was over, and Harry was headed home, he thought to himself, “I’m so glad I was honest…I like being a more effective leader.”
Leadership is learned behavior. Each of us has room to grow as leaders. Have you started the journey? Have you gotten side tracked…it’s not too late to move forward! Switzer Associates…Leadership Solutions can help you improve your effectiveness as a leader through excellent training, quality leadership assessments and/or providing a list of recommended leadership readings.
[1] Chip R. Bell, Managers as Mentors, (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002), 3.
[4] Leigh Branham, Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave, (New York: American Management Association, 2005), 29.
