I’m a Blind Man Leading-HELP

What’s your strategy for new leaders?

Your Rant: I’m new in a leadership position in my company. The guy who had the job before me was let go. What can I do to be a more effective leader?

911 Repair:

Travis Williams can teach us everything we need to know about leadership. He isn’t a professor, chief executive officer or business consultant. He was recently arrested for driving on Interstate 380 near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with the hood of his car open and totally blocking his view as he drove down the street. The police picked him up craning his neck out the window to see where he was going.

Williams had a huge blind spot and so do most of the leaders that I’ve met. That’s why it’s so important for everyone in a leadership position to ask themselves hard questions on a regular basis. I’ve listed some below. For more, check out “Why CEOs Fail” by Dotlich and Cairo (Jossey-Bass, 2003).

How is that working for you? Everyone likes to make fun of Dr. Phil. But his question, “how is that working for you?” is one that most of us don’t ask ourselves nearly enough. Given tools like the 360 evaluation, where employees can rate their boss, there is no reason to not know exactly how you are doing as a leader.

Where are you vulnerable? Dotlich and Cairo have identified 11 “derailers” or behaviors that can undo a leader: arrogance, melodrama, volatility, excessive caution, habitual distrust, aloofness, mischievousness, eccentricity, passive resistance, perfectionism, eagerness to please.

Do you analyze the adversity you are facing? I’m a big believer in avoiding problems whenever possible. That’s why it’s so important to learn everything you can from past mistakes. What patterns can you spot, what behaviors got you into trouble and what did your critics say that ended up being right — are a few great places to start.

Do you listen to your customers? Ah, customers. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. Sure a lot of customers today are just focused on getting more for less. As much as they can drive you crazy it is really important to see every interaction as a focus group where you can learn something new.

Do you have a mentor or confidant? Many leaders see mentorship as a one-way street, something that they do for others, but that they really don’t need anymore. I couldn’t disagree with this more strongly. Recently I heard about “reverse mentoring” where bosses get mentored by younger workers on the front lines to learn about the challenges that they face and about how the point of view of a younger worker can differ from the older bosses. Everyone can profit from being mentored by someone.

Do you force yourself to change? As we get older it is easier to get set in your ways. I’m a big believer that the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

Watch that blind spot and you’ll have the vision to fix whatever ails you.

911 pulse:

How would you rate the leaders you’ve experienced at work?

Excellent, 1.7 percent

Good, 21.4 percent

Terrible, 33.9 percent

Mediocre, 42.8 percent

User strategy:

Our winning strategy for leadership comes from M.T. in Philadelphia, Pa.: “I lead by looking for opportunities to develop new leaders. Recently I had a member of my team who was failing. He upset people and was very disruptive to the rest of the team. I came up with a simple strategy, I made him the chair of an important committee. He did a great job. One of the things I’ve learned is that as much of the disruptive behavior at work comes from people who are being under utilized as it does from people who are being over utilized.”

Bob Rosner and Sherrie Campbell author the nationally syndicated workplace911 column weekly. Bob’s a best-selling author and award-winning journalist who has responded to over 50,000 emails from employees, bosses and entrepreneurs. Sherrie’s a relationship expert and award-winning comedian who has offered quick, intuitive and humorous responses to over 30,000 people. He’s been called “Dilbert, with a solution.” She’s the counselor with a kick. Together they’ve turned rants into raves via TV, radio, print and live on their website at workplace911.com.