In his film, Boyatzis (n.d.) stated
that leadership is a relationship, to which I would add is made through
connections. When a leader has a good
grasp on what their followers are thinking and feeling the entire company performs
better. Then why is it that the majority
of leaders (according to Boyatzis (n.d.) the number is around 70-80%) are not
adding value to their follower’s life?
After completely his exercise I believe the answer is because they are
more concerned about the job itself and the tasks that are involved than the
people around them.
Let me start by describing the
leader that did not bring the best out of me, Jodi. Jodi was the manager of my department, guest
services, at the ski resort I worked at.
At first, I thought she was a decent leader, mostly because I had very
little interaction with her as we worked opposite shifts. As time went on I began to realize that she did
not really care about any of the employees, in fact, she felt they were
replaceable. This became very evident to
me when I was promoted to supervisor and was required to attend management
meetings regularly. Jodi was very
condescending and demeaning to the staff and offered very little praise for any
achievement. She was also extremely out
of touch with the staff on the shift opposite hers. She made connections with very few staff
members mostly out of her lack of trying.
Jodi was what Boyatzis (n.d.) described as self-centered; she only
worked to serve her own needs and purpose.
On the other side of the scale I had Jeff, he
was by far my most treasured leader in my professional career. Jeff was understanding, compassionate, and
reasonable. He was also extremely
competent and knowledgeable in his position, but not to the point of
arrogance. He loved his job and wanted
you to love yours too, he made work fun and exciting. Above all that, Jeff would challenge you to
be the best you could be. He would
empower you as an employee by offering you tasks he know you could handle and
by asking for your opinion or view on an issue.
In a way, he was teaching you to not only excel at your job but also to
train you for the next step. He did all
of this while maintaining the integrity of the company.
What is it about these two leaders
that make them so different; it’s all about the relationship and the
connections. Boyatzis and McKee (2005)
stated, “emotionally intelligent leaders manage others’ emotions and build
strong, trusting relationships” (p. 4).
This is precisely what Jeff did, he attempted to make a connection and
relationship with every employee and he succeeded with most. Jodi, on the other hand, felt her employees
were expendable so it wasn’t worth her time to make relationships. When a leader doesn’t take the time to make
these relationships their followers will not respond to tasks with their best
foot forward, mostly because they feel there is no point.
Most people would say they prefer positive
interacts to negative ones, it is human nature, but how dot hey affect the
leader/follower relationship? According
to Whetten
and Cameron (2011), positive relationships help people perform better at
work and also learn more effectively, due to the energy created from the
relationship. A negative person can
bring an entire group down; it is emotionally and mentally draining to deal
with a negative person. All the energy
that is wasted on that negative person could be used to focus on tasks
instead.
In the end, the leader must put
forth the energy needed to make connections in order to receive the benefit of
a hard working and dedicated employee. As
Boyatzis and McKee (2005) indicated, “resonant leaders manage
their emotions well and read individuals and groups accurately” (p. 22). Fortunately for me, Jeff did just this; he
brought all his followers up to a new level and continued to make strong
connections from there. Jodi, I’m
assuming, is still in her office not speaking to anyone other than her
favorites and not really caring which employees come or go. That job is the only one I have ever quit
without two weeks notice and it was for a cause I still stand for today, Jodi
made a poor judgment decision that made an employee I highly valued upset enough
to quit. That was the last straw for me
and I left, but not without learning a lesson on how not to be a leader.
Boyatzis, R. &
McKee, A. (2005). Resonant Leadership (5th ed.). Harvard Business
Press.
Boyatzis, R. (n.d.).
What is great Leadership? [Video file]. Retrieved January 11,
2017.
Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S.
(2011). Developing Management Skills (E. Svendsen
Ed. 8th ed.). Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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