The leader yelled, "You are either on the bus or off the bus!"

Have you ever heard this phrase from an executive or one like it? It's the favorite thing for some managers to yell or scream when they are trying to make a point. I don't believe this phrase now means what novelist Ken Kesey intended. So, let me tell you a brief story.

High Noon in the Meeting Room

The 'big man' came to town. As SVP of Operations, he was there to "fire up" everyone, and they were nervous. His reputation as a blustery tyrant preceded him.

About fifty people had gathered in the meeting room. He stormed in fifteen minutes late. I had just started working with this region as a consultant (hired by the COO), and he totally ignored me. His eyes roamed the room and then he yelled at the top of his lungs, "You are either on the bus or off the bus!" (I hate those words and others like them, don't you?) Then he started to berate everyone for poor performance and challenged them to improve or he would "can their a**". I counted his 'bus' phrase about twenty-five times. He would walk up to someone, yell the bus words in their face, often saying a few other choice words, get up and find someone new to chew on. After about forty-five minutes, he abruptly left to go to another location to give them his version of motivation.

The Storm's Aftermath

Needless to say everyone was fearful for their jobs, deflated, angry, and concerned. It became my job to help clean up the mess and it took the next day or so to calm everyone down. As people everywhere have to do in the aftermath of destruction, we focused on what to do to move forward. Eventually, we created a plan together. We began to significantly improve the team's results. I gave the COO some feedback about the event. Eventually, he pulled the 'big man' into the corporate office to have a highly spirited conversation. The big man was terminated within the year, although he had already had a long career at that company.

Is Leadership "Influence"?

I don't believe the big man's antics are leadership. Others that do things like this, regardless of their lofty title or position, are not leaders. As with people who are too heavy-handed when "training" animals, they may get results for a while out of fear but it usually isn't sustainable. Employee turnover is most often rapid under their command.

If a manager wants respect, motivation, better sustainable performance and trust he or she has to lead differently to earn it. Many have said that leadership is influence. Let me correct that phrase: "Leadership is positive influence." Negative influence--as described here-- is an affront to employees, customers and, quite frankly, the company. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, "A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." 

Can you relate to this story? Do you agree?

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