Leader Versus Dictator

Fear and intimidation do not create consistently better results in the long run. So why do some leaders lead this way?

I’ve reported to over 20 managers or executives throughout my career thus far. At the risk of a generalization, I would say most have led in one of two ways. The first leads from the front and by example, earning the respect of their team. The second achieves results through fear and intimidation, managing upward and dictating downward.

I joined Randy Seidl on his podcast Tech Sales Insights LIVE (view here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/video/live/urn:li:ugcPost:7148357679453765632/ ) to talk about my first 90 days as a leader of a new team. We were talking about a chapter in my forthcoming book Simple, but HARD. The title of the chapter is Leader vs. Dictator. Since the book does not arrive until June, here's a quick review of what I covered on this topic with Randy.

People will respond to fear and intimidation in the short run. But I remain ever more convinced with each passing year that better and lasting results are achieved by leaders that are the kind of person that their organization does not want to let down.

I have had executives that acted like tyrannical bullies and would shame sales leaders in front of their peers. One executive I once reported to liked to finish his directives with, “That wasn’t a request, it was a f***ing command.” That oft-repeated line lost its punch after a while. I’ve also worked directly for executives that I held in such high regard that I would do anything and everything in my power to help them succeed. And make sure I never let them down.

What Positive Leadership Looks Like

I had an opportunity to meet U.S. Navy Four-Star Admiral William McRaven, who spent 37 years as a Navy SEAL and completed his military service as Commander of all U.S. Special Operations Forces. He told a story of visiting his troops in a remote location and asking them what he could do to help them. Their ask surprised him. They didn't ask for more or better artillery or armor. They asked for a new washing machine. They wanted the broken washing machines replaced so that they didn't have to spend so much time waiting in line to do their laundry when they had more urgent things to be doing. He got them new washing machines and probably earned the admiration and loyalty of many through this simple act that showed he cared. Pope Francis once said “You must be shepherds that smell like your sheep”. The same can be said of leaders. If you want to earn their respect, get out with them and see what they are seeing.

What It Does NOT Look Like

I've worked for a couple of leaders that would use war analogies in meetings and try to compel us to urgent action from what they referred to as their "war room" as though they were Napoleon, Alexander, or Caesar leading us into battle. Sales is hard work but it is not war. And I'd be willing to bet that leaders that talk this way have never been military commanders.

We Can All Be Humbled

Managers should rarely ask their teams to take training that they aren't willing to take themselves. I was already 42 years old when I completed my master's degree and I had a sales operations organization at work that provided me with data needed to run my business. At one point, I was struggling through a complex statistics class. I wrongly and arrogantly told the professor that I had people working for me that did this and that they needed to know this, not me. The wise professor correctly scolded me, not once but twice. First, he said, "how do you know the conclusions they're giving you are right?". And second, he said, "I bet you'd win the respect and admiration of your analysts if you told them that you too have slogged through a 600-level Regression Analysis class.". Leadership. And he got me to dig back in until I mastered it.

Many leaders read summaries of spreadsheets instead of leading. Instead of really getting to know their own organizations that created the numbers and leading them to better numbers. When you dictate, you point fingers and ignore feedback. When you lead, you know the people that are behind you and you lead them to a place beyond what they thought was possible. Strong positive leadership is hard. It’s easier to manage up and sideways than to lead those who work for you.

Studies Show

Studies show that leaders can be more effective through time-blocking or practicing the art of being completely present and uninterrupted wherever you are. This is hard when managers have employees scattered in many locations. Dr. Aditi Nerurkar, a physician at Harvard Medical School and author of the forthcoming book “The 5 Resets” says that human brains are wired to do one thing at a time. So the manager sitting with one employee prepping for a sales call while returning texts to, and approving expense reports for, other employees can't possibly be giving their full attention to the person that they are sitting next to.

A Little Perspective

I used to work closely alongside a sales manager who had been a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War. He was a jovial and calm leader. I guess that once you've repeatedly landed a helicopter in a brownout, quarter-end seems more pleasant than it feels to some of us. He was often nonplussed by what people thought was a crisis in week 13 of a quarter. When things would get very intense in our time together closing each quarter, he’d remind me to keep a little perspective. He'd tell me to separate facts from drama and to only act on the facts. He’d say, “What we are doing here is very important, but nobody's going to die.” A good point. Business brings us plenty of drama without us making up more.

Leaders that want to find out just how good they can get must do the work to be a positive force of good for their teams. To lead from the front.

The good news? It's much more rewarding than just managing.

Scott Strubel is the Vice President of the Americas Partner Organization for Darktrace and author of the book Simple, but HARD (https://simplebuthardbook.com/ ). You can find more articles on leadership, sales, and partnering at Scott's blog scott-talks.com .