Leadership Influence
Posted: Thursday, July 30, 2009
by Rose-Marie Chaperon
Chaperon Consulting, LLC
John Maxwell sums up his definition of leadership as "leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less." This moves beyond the position defining the leader, to looking at the ability of the leader to influence others - both those who would consider themselves followers, and those outside that circle. Indirectly, it also builds in leadership character, since without maintaining integrity and trustworthiness, the capability to influence will disappear (Mazwell, 2006) .
As a first time supervisor, it is important to have someone to follow, someone who has lead before, someone you could refer to as a mentor. Being a successful supervisor is important. On May 1987, while I was working as a clerk in the emergency department of a florida hospital, to my astonishment, there was a supervisory position open. I was not sure if I wanted to apply for it or not. I knew very little of what supervision was about, besides what I was subjected to while I worked as a clerk.
The manager I reported to, which we will refer to as Carlos X, was one of the most unethical, uncaring and carefree individual I have ever worked with. Carlos X. created a very fearful environment for the employees he supported.
On the first day of my orientation as a new supervisor, Carols X told me one thing that will last with me forever. " Management is not a popularity contest. We're hired to meet targets and increased cash flows, and that includes cracking down on inefficiencies and making sure standards, deadlines, and budgets are kept. Experienced executives say that it helps to have your staff just a little afraid, just so they take your directives seriously. "I refuse to waste management time begging people to meet their deadlines," says Carlos X. When I asked Carlos X, is saying please and thank you begging? His response was yes it is, he said there is no need to say please and thank you, their paycheck is enough.
As a new supervisor who did not know any better, I started following Carlos X's foot prints; I started leading by fear and started treating people like my personal property. Within four months, I went from being on the A-list at work to being isolated, singled out for criticism and branded as "troubled and a bully." As months passed and the social isolation, hostility and false accusations of wrongdoing intensified, my productivity standards were low; the employees were resigning from my unit to go work in other units.
When I realized that my career would be over before it started, I had a decision to make. I knew demoralizing people, leading by fear and intimidation was not the kind of leader I wanted to be. I knew there was a difference between a good leader and a bad leader. In business some days are diamonds and some days are coal. Successful managers are prepared to deal with the day no matter what it brings. They do not stick their heads in the sand and wait for the bad news to go away.
A good leader listens more than he speaks. He takes input from the team and makes decisions based on that input and his own expertise. He sets the example that he expects his team to follow. Gives useful feedback; sets a high ethical tone. Good leaders are positive, encouraging and realistically optimistic. A good leader never lets his team see him sweat. He does not broadcast his negativity because he knows negativity is contagious and will spread faster than the plague. A good leader encourages his team to perform no matter the odds. He is the positive force that keeps everyone motivated to win (Knox, 2005) .
Seven months later after my ordeal, I started to lead my team differently; although Carlos X threatened to terminate me if he ever hears the magic words come out of my mouth, I decided to take a leap of faith because I knew where I was going. I knew that effective leaders know what's important to them, what their strengths and weaknesses are, what drives them, and where to draw the line. Put it together and it boils down to a leader who has self-confidence and clear values.
I knew myself very well, I knew how I wanted to be treated and so I started to treat people the same. I started to include the team in my decision making process, I started communicating with them; I became part of the team while I retained my position. Knowing oneself is necessary when faced with challenges or ethical choices, communicating with those who have different ideas, making decisions, and identifying sources of satisfaction. "We need to be clear about our own values, priorities, and preferences and not let someone else, such as Carlos X or society, define them for us.
I was on call on a Saturday, I received a call from one of the clerks working the night shift in the emergency department, and she was concerned because the hospital ran out of baby formula. I told her to tell the charge nurse that I would go to Wal-Mart to purchase the formula and I should be at the hospital within fifteen to twenty minutes. The clerk response to me "Rose, you would do that for real, even though this is not your area of responsibility"? My response to her, when it comes to doing my job, I will do anything for the company as long as it is not unethical, immoral or illegal. Looking back at my career, I think I changed and became a different person.
A few days later, I intervened in a discussion that Carlos X was having with an employee, I asked the employee to leave the room and to give us a few minutes. I stood up to Carlos and asked him to start treating the employees a little differently or I would have no choice but to report him to senior management and human resources. Although, he threatened to fire me for the fiftieth time, his threats did not faze me any longer because it was apparent that I was going to change things from the old way he managed people to the new way of leadership.
Change is one of life's most obvious factors, yet remains one of the most strongly resisted. As Peter Senge, an expert on managing organizations, says, "Everything is in motion, continually changing, forever adapting." Effective leaders recognize the value of change. Yet all too often, it's much more comfortable to ignore the inevitability of change and to keep things the way they've always been. Unless a leader's goal is to bankrupt a business or ensure no new members join an organization that approach cannot work. Changes need to be anticipated and responded to if growth is going to continue. And that applies to minor changes, as well as major ones (Bobinski, 2006) . I needed to make that change for my career, my personal growth, the hospital and most importantly the employees I supported. I had a very long progressive management career with the hospital until the hospital was sold then closed. Until these days, I apply these same management principles in y career; I treat people with respect, care and dignity.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Rose-Marie, a very inspirational message on what you learned and how you dealt with challenges. The challenge was finding who you were and holding true to that. This Carlos X is a character! You did so many thing right. You knew the advice you received was not the best advice and looked for help. I've often said you, manage paperwork and lead people. How do you lead? As you said, by example.
Thank you for sharing this and making it personal!
My best,
Avis
PS I have but one suggestion, in the future reduce the size of your paragraphs.
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