Mitchell just wrapped up another successful rodeo week, the 51st Corn Palace Stampede Rodeo. For the general public, things like the Rodeo come around on an annual basis and occur like magic. There are other civic events, for example the Circus and Corn Palace Week, that appear like clockwork the same time every year and we take them for granted. These, and other happenings, require lots of hard work, planning, coordination and leadership.
Other things, for instance the Tannenbaum Festival, Arts in the Park and the Madrigal Feast, were once integral to the life of our community but fell by the wayside. They did so because those who led and coordinated these events either died or grew tired of the responsibility and no one stepped up to replace them. The Area Community Theater is another example of a quality civic amenity that everyone seems to enjoy but that most don’t want to be involved with – other than by attending performances. I wonder how long the ACT can last under these circumstances especially once the current leaders pass from the scene, for one reason or another.
I’ve worked under many different styles of leadership in the various jobs I’ve held throughout my life. Some supervisors have truly been leaders while others floundered because they were clearly in over their heads. Still other “leaders” were in fact tyrants; they thought a position of responsibility meant absolute total despotic and capricious power. You can guess which style of leadership inspires loyalty and dedication and which instigates the behavior of merely going through the motions until another position can be found as quickly as possible.
Psychologist Daniel Goleman published his findings in the Harvard Business Review in an article entitled “Leadership That Gets Results”. His research suggests, “Coercive leaders create a reign of terror. They bully and demean, roaring displeasure at the slightest misstep.” That contrasts with the “authoritative leader”, not to be confused with authoritarian leadership. Goleman says, “Authoritative leaders are visionaries who set a course for an institution and inspire each member to take responsibility for getting to the final destination.” His research concludes that coercive leaders drive people away, lower productivity and create a climate of fear that leads to no risk taking, little improvement in performance and eventual decline of the institution. Authoritative leaders foster a culture of sharing, trust and human capital investment in the enterprise thus inspiring dedicated employees to do their best in order to achieve the goals of the organization.
The research also suggests there are some simple ways to see if you are an authoritative leader. Are you approachable, open to suggestion and tolerant of other people’s points of view? Do you foster an environment where subordinates feel psychologically safe and where errors by well-meaning people are endured without reprisal or degradation? Are you leading with integrity or by brute force? Is your leadership free of backbiting, lying and gamesmanship? Is there mutual respect and loyalty between you as the boss and your employees or do you scapegoat others denying any possible fault or responsibility of your own?
Likewise, there are some basic ways to tell if your leadership is coercive. Your answers to the questions in the paragraph above may already indicate you are a coercive leader. Here are some other questions used to assess the level of toxic leadership. Do you solicit suggestions only to routinely belittle or dismiss them? Is everything about you, regardless of what the conversation or the original point of the meeting may have been? Do you seek opinions only to immediately dismiss and reject them if they don’t conform to your preconceived ideas? Do you have meetings only to impart information rather than to engage in discussion and to encourage the sharing of ideas? If so, that should be in an email and not a presentation at a meeting. Do you expect your subordinates to blindly follow you without any explanatory communication by you, the manager, about the underlying purpose and/or goals of the proposed action(s)? Is your default attitude, “Because I’M the boss!” If so, that is just a poor leader’s version of the adult response to a child, “Because I said so!” If so you are a coercive leader then you are in charge the way Captain Smith was in charge of the Titanic, “Full speed ahead and damn the consequences”. The negative impacts on employees, customers and the business are predictable and inevitable.
I’ve had some great bosses in my various careers. However, I had one who was clearly coercive. When he took Viagra, all it did was to make him taller.