Social Change Agent to Leader

**Spoiler Alert**

(This is a post about leadership leadership lesson taught to me by watching  ABC Familys “Make it or Break it.” Teen lust, junk food and underage drinking at parties are mentioned. Read at your own risk !)

Recently I have been hooked on a television show, “Make it break it”.  While this show will never win an Emmy (so-so writing, formulaic plot), it has been a fun and sometimes stimulating show to watch about competitive gymnastics AND leadership.

In one episode there was a young lady, Kaylie Cruz, who was elected team captain. She did not really want the responsibility and smiled meekly when her name was announced.  It became pretty clear quickly after she assumed her  role that she was going to lead from a place of insecurity and fear.  She barked orders at the girls constantly about their routines and practice schedules.  She asked the girls to wear promise rings to sweari off any promiscuity or alcoholic drinking  because it would derail their chance for “the gold.”  She went so far as to follow one of her team members to a party to make sure that she was keeping her promise not too drink.

Her behavior was comedic, but not all that weird in terms of leaders.

Pop Quiz

Lets think about when you get a leadership role.  The one where your boss says ” it all rest on your shoulders” to:

• create a campaign that inspire your stakeholders
• gets your team to work really hard on a project that they are NOT excited about
  
• to convince your investors/donors to give more money than they did last year

How do you handle it?

Do you: (choose only one answer)

• Option 1- Get it done at all cost
• Option 2- Outline the goal, outline the initial steps and ask for input
• Option 3- You abdicate leadership but maintain responsibility

Your answer demystified

• Option 1- Get it done at all costs

You round up your team and you “lay down the law”. The conversation is generally “one- sided” with you laying out the expectations and timelines. Your tone and body language suggest that you don’t want to hear a word of dissent because your goal is to get this done.

Silent obedience is the goal. Who cares about buy in.

• Option 2- Outline the goal, outline the initial steps and ask for input

You leave the meeting, go back to your desk and gather your thoughts.  Then pull your team and tell them about the project focusing on the goals, the timelines, the outcomes.  You ask them if they have questions.

They raise their hands either to clarify the project or to object.  In each case you acknowledge their questions and answer them as factually as you can. This method is a little trickier. You have to maintain control of the outcomes but you also have to be open to being asked questions.In this situation, you keep your (and the teams) eyes on the prize and as much as possible.

• Option 3- You abdicate leadership but maintain responsibility

If your team is bothered or disagree with the decision, you may not care about leading them.  You have to get the work done. In this scenario you shrug your shoulders and say “I think it sucks too and this timeline is ludicrous, but we just have to do it.“

This might work in the short term but it undermines you in the long term because you are doing the “I am in the sandbox with you” trick to motivate your employees to get the work done.  You are not inspiring them in fact you are actually weakening your leadership in their eyes and you are also making them resent the other levels of leadership in the organization.  Bad precedent to set.

If there is any correct answer (which there is); It would be option 2.  In the  show that I mentioned before , Kaylie was clearly operating under Option 1. But she came around to option 2 in the end. YAY Kaylie!

Art imitates life

I have watched senior team members struggle to lead a team when their own leaders are pushing on them to “GET IT DONE”.  And I have worked on teams where each of the three options above were used.

Here is the things that I have learned:

Sometimes

• you have to lead in a vacuum.
• you have to follow without all the facts and justifications.
• you can’t be as transparent as your team wants you to be
  
• the work simply has to get done
• you will encounter frustration, anger and even dissent

When you can be transparent, get buy-in and have your team on board, you should ABSOLUTELY do so.  Lead with trust.  Give and expect respect.

Above all, lead on!

Yours in social change,