The Fearful Administrator Explosion

A 2015 survey showed that eight of the top ten complaints of employees concerned the things their bosses were not doing: Their leaders were simply absent.

After working with dozens of business leaders in the past few years, I have concluded that high performance leaders are not afraid to draw a line in the sand to achieve big, important goals, and visibly put their own skin in the game. They are committed. Leaders who behave like fearful administrators, on the other hand, avoid clear personal accountability, shift blame to other people within the organization when things go wrong, hide behind broad consensus decision making, and accept the status quo when important initiatives fail. They are involved.

The difference between being committed and being involved is huge: If you have bacon with eggs for breakfast, the chicken is involved, yet the pig is committed.

There are two problems with leaders who act like fearful administrators and avoid putting their own skin in the game. First, when the going gets tough, they are usually unable to take difficult, but necessary decisions. The second issue is even bigger: Leaders who behave like fearful administrators, attract more leaders who behave like fearful administrators. This is called the Fearful Administrator Explosion. The end result of a Fearful Administrator Explosion is always predictable and never good.

Unfortunately, we don’t have to take a long, hard look to find many examples of paralyzed organizations, which are currently experiencing a Fearful Administrator Explosion. The decision to commit yourself to achieve big goals and put your own skin in the game, will therefore quickly set you apart as an effective leader and powerful role-model. This, however, takes courage and persistence: Don’t let the fearful administrators grind you down.

Paul Rulkens is an expert in strategic high performance: the art and science of accelerating bold executive outcomes with the least amount of effort. He is a trusted boardroom advisor, professional speaker, and author of 'How Successful Engineers become Great Business Leaders' and 'The Power of Preeminence.' Additional resources, including two of his popular TED talks (watched by more than 1.6 million people), can be found at www.paulrulkens.com