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Dear Champions of Encouragement

We saw this in the last Encourager: we can only change ourselves. The good thing
about this is that we no longer have to do more of something, but rather less. Our dominant,
unconscious patterns influence our leadership. So it’s not about changing our
behaviors, but rather the underlying assumptions behind them. When
we become aware of our assumptions, real change can take place—
both within ourselves and in our environment. One image that helps us with this reflection
is courageous leadership.

1. Empathetic Avoidance

60% of managers are in the first quadrant. Many managers have the
impression that they must “be nice” to their employees and that they should avoid or resolve conflicts
on their employees’ behalf. Their empathy prevents them from making unpopular decisions
. As a result, they become paralyzed.

2. Courageous Leadership

In this quadrant, leaders combine heart and backbone, compassion and courage. In
this quadrant, leaders are true to themselves and come across as credible. They are able to make and implement difficult
decisions. Based on our experience, approximately 10% of
leaders fall into this quadrant.

3. Inefficient Activism

In this area, managers may act as if they are getting things done. They are
hyperactive and constantly bombard those around them with assignments and tasks, but these have little
impact. The energy expended on these activities largely fizzles out. Real results are
few and far between. This kind of overactivity paralyzes entire departments instead of helping them grow. Approximately
20% of managers operate in this realm.

4. Lackluster Implementation

Although progress is being made in this area and results are being achieved, these
often come at the expense of people and are not truly sustainable. Approximately 10% of executives
operate in this way.

So how do you get into Field 2? By doing less of what prevents us from succeeding
. Leaders in Field 1 can afford to be less nice and trust their people
. Adults can certainly handle conflict if it’s mediated with heart
and backbone. Managers in Field 3 can confidently stop paralyzing their teams with
nonsensical tasks. Instead of assigning new tasks every day and thereby
driving people to the point of helplessness, they should ask themselves more often:
“What’s the point of this?” And if the only answer is to satisfy the hierarchy, then
it’s worth bringing that up. No company has ever survived by merely satisfying the hierarchy
. Admittedly, sometimes managers in Field 4 are needed—for example, during turnarounds.
But when the primary focus is on numbers and you spend a
substantial portion of your time chasing after relevant KPIs, then
you lose sight of what really matters: goals are achieved by people. If
people feel they no longer play a role, then they will no longer achieve goals
. Managers in Field 4 should therefore reduce their focus on numbers somewhat. By doing so
, they take the pressure off the system and let people breathe again.

A key skill of leaders in field 2 is the ability to facilitate conflicts. We emphasize: facilitate – not resolve.

Courageous regards,
Michael Kres
ProMove TM