I Was Involved In a Hit and Run.
Kelly Merbler
Leadership Development Consultant ??l Keynote Speaker ?? l Gallup Certified StrengthsFinder (CliftonStrengths) Executive Coach l The Kelly of Coffee ?? With Kelly l Culture & Engagement l Maxwell Leadership Faculty
I am guilty as charged! About ten years ago, I was involved in a hit and run.
Not the type of hit and run that you are imagining, but the kind that I refer to as "reckless management". I was a really solid individual contributor who was known for consistently crushing sales goals within the organization. I had always aspired to move into a management position. After a few years of working the market, an opportunity popped up in my office for a management position.
I enthusiastically applied for the position. Just as most companies do, I was promoted for tenure and high production numbers. I was not selected based on my ability to lead people. In reality, I was given the keys to the kingdom before I was ready to lead it. As the old saying goes, "I didn't know what I didn't know" at that time. So, off I went with my increase in salary and elevated title.
I vividly recall walking into the office on that first Monday of my new position and making a beeline straight to my desk in the corner. I didn't say a word to anyone and got right down to business. I never asked how anyone was doing or made an attempt to get to know anything about them personally. I was focused like a laser beam on hitting profit numbers and lifting the office out of the red and into the black – I had no time for any chit chat.
When a new employee started, I would make it my duty to present and review the metrics that they were responsible for meeting. Just as quickly, I would leave the scene and return to my own work without even taking the time to connect with them and understand what they needed from me.
I remember countless victims of this management style. Keep in mind, I was just managing the way I had always been shown by my predecessors. I actually thought my job was to simply focus on growing profits and filling the empty sales offices around me. In my own defense, I was partly correct. However, I focused on pushing everyone to their absolute limit to exceed revenue targets while placing a limit on any spending so that we would experience maximum profitability.
I was a real joy in the office when there was a problem within my team or we didn't have a profitable month. My solution was to grind the team to stop and call a morning meeting to immediately address what it was they were doing wrong. Basically, it was me telling them what they needed to change in order to keep their jobs. Once the meeting was completed, I would quickly flee the scene and go back to my office causing more damage while fueling more turnover.
According to Gallup, 70% of team engagement is determined solely by the leader. Based on that data point, you can imagine the damage inflicted by those "hit and run" managers and how they affect not only the employee engagement numbers, but the overall well-being of the people they are responsible for on the team.
So if you find yourself involved with a hit and run manager, below are three tips to think about on how to best deal with this situation:
- Find a moment to have an honest conversation with your manager. I was fortunate to have someone on my team that was not afraid to take this bold step. She told me how my management was affecting the team. I had no idea that I was actually the primary problem. It never occurred to me until someone spoke up and made me aware what it felt like on the other side of that our team equation.
- Make the effort to step-up and lead for your team members. You may not carry the title of "manager", but that has nothing to do with your ability to influence the team you work with. Anyone can be a leader regardless of their professional title or role. If your team members are craving better leadership, show them what that looks like and connect with them as much as you can. If they aren't experiencing leadership from the person with the title, then be the person who can make them feel valued and appreciated as their co- worker.
- Decide if this is the right place for you. People don't leave companies, they leave bad bosses. If you aren't feeling valued or appreciated, maybe it's time to engage that recruiter you know and have them help you to find a leader who values what you bring and will appreciate you. You don't have to continue to be a victim of reckless management.
To your growth,
Kelly Merbler
#jobs #leadership #life #quotes #personaldevelopment #business #success #recruiting #inspiration #entrepreneur #tips #love #marketing
Director Executive Search
5 年The ability to be self reflective is a wonderful attribute. Thank you for sharing a powerful message for both leaders and those who are lead by them. Inspire !
Optimizing business results through HR capabilities
5 年From my perspective, even though few times you have to take out the Thor’s Hammer, that continuous Hit and Run leadership has two awful impacts: it attempt against the democracy (participation) and inhibit the raising of new good leaders.
Business Development Exec??Coach & Mentor??Category Development Specialist??Customer Centric Focused??Perpetual Student Of Life??Inspiring Others To Make A Difference??
5 年Well done Kelly, you are one of the very few leaders that have reflected on past performance and actively made change to improve your ability to lead those in your care. What do you described in your article is what I refer to as clone management. You mentioned that you were managing people based on how you were shown by other managers, this is indicative of a highly toxic management culture. You identified your style was highly autocratic in nature and eventually made changes to improve your leadership ability. Some organisations and some individuals lack this insight and ability to change. Well done and I wish you all the best with your continued leadership growth. Take care and thank you so much for sharing your experience ...
Human Resources at Cummins Inc.
5 年Guilty! The first few employees I had the privilege to lead 18 years ago showed me what a good manager is and the difference and importance between good and great. It is a big leap and I work harder and harder every day. I am so glad I have wonderful support system around me. ??
Wisconsin guy, writer, a ponderer, a reflector, let's not call it brooding, but deep thinking and thoughtfulness, ok?
5 年That's how things were. Anybody reading the leading business books of the day was someone who wasn't going to fit into 95% of most work settings. The current styles of leadership that hopefully are becoming more common would have been just a pipe dream back in my days in the corporate world. If we took time to get to know our team, and tried to flex any type of empathetic muscles at all, we were "wasting valuable time in idle chatter" and we just "needed to buckle down and focus on what really matters around here." When people left for some of those very same reasons, it was usually met with "good riddance, maybe we can get someone in here who wants to work." The entire work landscape was about keeping your head down, driving those numbers and doing whatever it took, no matter the hours that you worked or where you worked them (in the office, definitely, at home or on vacation, in your "free time...") Building relationships and any of that "warm fuzzy stuff" was for after hours or away from the work island, as work was the idol that needed to be worshiped at all times, at all cost, in every way possible. You weren't anything unique, Kelly Merbler, as you so aptly point out, you were a product of every work environment that you had participated in up to that point. If things weren't as peachy as they were supposed to be, it's because you were too soft and not grinding people hard enough. Work was work, not something to be cherished or enjoyed or looked forward to. Your strength was that you allowed someone to have that "honest conversation." In many workplaces, it would've been that employee's last conversation, about anything, on those premises.