Recently, my office received this email response, from a corporate
Vice-President, to our sales call.
Dear Marcia:
Thanks for following up.
As it stands right now, we are
experiencing some pretty intense business pressure as the overall product category
continues to be down.
With that going on, we’ve got to be
somewhat conservative around what we pursue.
Thanks!
Bill
This Vice-president’s response typifies a predominant mentality
among corporate leaders in this down economy. Organizations have the money. Employees certainly have the need for
encouragement. What they often don’t have
from their leaders, however, is Managerial Courage.
A lot has been written in an attempt to define the elusive attribute
of Managerial Courage. Some describe it
as being decisive. Others say it is acting with conviction. Still others claim it is being honest.
Most managers
aspire to lead with all of these honorable qualities, particularly in good
times. The ultimate form of Managerial
Courage, however, only comes to light in darkness of tough times. True Managerial Courage is the ability to decisively
press forward in when the outlook may be gray and murky.
Unfortunately, many leaders abandon their quest to develop
these courageous qualities, at the first sight of trouble, instead opting to
hunker down and play it safe. They don’t
realize how they may be creating the very reality they fear.
The Vice-president, for example, sees that “the overall
product category continues to be down”.
He reacts in a number of potentially deleterious ways: confusion,
regret, fear, etc. In order to help him cope with these unnerving
emotions, he practices being conservative. Unbeknownst to the Vice-president his
conservatism may be contributing to the problem.
Like gears in a clock mechanism, around and around the Vice-president’s
perceptions, reactions, and practices spin: a vicious cycle where he literally
creates his experience of the world based on the way he perceives it; in this
case, the decrease in sales.
Employees need and expect their leaders to live up to their
pay grade. Workers respect and trust leaders
who know where they are going, make tough calls and forge ahead. Nevertheless, all too often, leaders like
this Vice-president lose their nerve in tough times.
The lack of Managerial Courage commonly appears in the budgetary
decisions a leader makes in tough times. Corporate leaders often cut training and
development programs first. Such a move,
however, is shortsighted because training and developing your people arms them
the necessary tools critical for weathering tough times. Training reduces risks, turnover and the need for
extensive supervision. Training increases innovation, productivity,
morale and the ability to adapt to change. Without such tools, fear spreads throughout
the organization, tanking morale and paving the way for competition to take the
lead.
Continually developing your people seems like common sense,
but in the words of Voltaire, "Common sense is not common practice”. Ironically, corporate leaders often invite me
to address their employees when times are good, hoping that I can help employees
sustain their growth. While developing
your people is always a good idea. The
best time to bring me in to your organization is when people are unnerved and
need a message of resiliency and encouragement the most.
Indeed, these difficult days are the times that will make or
break your organization.
Investing in your people when times are tough shows
remarkable Managerial Courage.
1 comment:
John Foppe is a living motivation; the epitome of what i'd say 'Never Say Never!!'
God bless you John Foppe! Always...
xoxox
From Xar (India)
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