Balancing the Tight-rope Leadership

Compassion vs Competence

                                                      ~ By Saurabh Bajaj & Shrabonee Paul

If we randomly throw the question "What kind of leader is the right Boss to work with? The one that stretches & grows you or the one that cares for you & is a safety net?" Your most likely answer would probably be "Why can’t I get the best of both?"

One of the leaders who perhaps had the strongest impact on corporate management styles was Jack Welch. He was clearly one of the most successful CEOs of all times. Under Welch’s leadership, GE increased market value from $ 12 billion in 1981 to $ 410 billion when he retired in 2001. Jack Welch values informality at work, allowing all employees to have a small business experience in a large organization. However he popularized a “rank and yank” policy which means that he would richly reward the top 20% with bonuses and stock options, but fire the bottom 10% regardless of absolute performance.

There is a wide difference between the work styles of the large multinational companies and the typical business houses”-. The MNCs generally follow the Jack Welch school of thought - Rich rewards for the Top 20% and huge penalty for the bottom 10%. In India, the business houses are typically a bit more socialist with single digit increments for almost the entire company & career growths are often driven by operational excellence rather than disruptive thinking. Both approaches have their merits. The hire & fire approach makes employees more performance driven and risk taking, but when things go wrong, it leads to disaster. While the traditional business houses are usually more compassionate and thus often tend to be more robust in the longer term.

The dual balance of Passion for Performance and yet delivering Empathic Leadership is a finer situational leadership skill, that all leaders are not able to deliver consistently. The challenge of duality of these two goals leads to several interesting scenarios and management challenges, and the image of the leader is perceived accordingly.

One of these interesting perceptions is of The Ruthless Leader, who is most often found in the fast target driven functions. He is anxious, target driven, he is often restless and keeps you on your toes. His mentees often see a sharp rise in their performance standards and efficiencies. He is also the leader who we need in times of crisis or when absolute direction is required. This leader models the military behaviors and seeks absolute subservience. However, this leadership style is perhaps outdated and not as relevant in today’s times. In the times of widespread crisis, this leadership style can be toxic and cause more burnouts and damage to the organization, than beneficial.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Compassionate Leader, who perhaps binds together a team and empowers them. Now while this sounds ideal, this style often only works if his team is extremely competent and self-driven. The constant challenge that such a leader might face is that driving consistency in performance & being able to keep the momentum high in his team. Since he comes from a position of empathy, he will need to work much harder to inspire and drive the team towards business results. With a team of highly competent individuals this is an ideal leadership style, but not always when the team needs definite strong directions to achieve overall outstretched business goals.

The ideal leadership style that one seeks hence is that of the Adaptive Leader- one who is able to balance Competence and Compassion. Someone who knows how to challenge the individuals enough to perform to the best of their ability, yet give them the comfort to stick together as a team! And as a cherry on the top, one of the unique features of the adaptive leader is the quality that they can roll up their sleeves and jump into action as a frontline performer whenever the stakes are high.

But how does one get there?

The top behaviors of Adaptive leaders that we have observed are:

1. They understand the meaning of the locker room. When they are with their direct reports, they can be tough & critical, sometimes even brutal. The aim is to stretch the team and hence get them to put their best foot forward. However, when they are with their team in front of other leadership, they will bat for the team all the way, and take on the onus of all decisions proposed by the team. They may push and team in the locker room, but when the team is on the ground they will carry them across the finish line.

2. They own the growth of their direct reports -  These leaders are passionate for performance, but they are equally passionate about growing their team. The consider getting the team their bonus or promotions as a personal KRA. While they demand results they are also brutally tough on themselves in terms of providing the right guidance and hence they see an increase in competency of their team as a ratification of themselves and their leadership styles.

3. They understand that to be a good professional one needs to be at ease- These leaders might do a very tough review or push hard on deadlines, but that doesn’t stop them from regularly checking in the personal wellbeing of the team member. They don’t see a disparity between pushing hard to meet business goals and keeping the workspace jovial and light with a positive and enthusiastic mindset.

Hence, it’s important to remind ourselves that too much comfort leads to no growth, and too much challenges leads to no stability. Thus the leader who is both competent and compassionate gives the right environment of growth and stability for the team to perform, evolve and find the reasons for belongingness to the organization and the leader.

This balance and nourishment that the Adaptive leader provides their team gives the team the confidence to strive better and recognize their true capabilities that paves way for more enriching experiences and success.

Share with us your experiences and @Mindful Musings of the ideal leaders you met and their unique styles, that you hold dear to your heart?

#leadership #professionaldevelopment

#empoweringleaders #adaptiveleader