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Early on in my leadership experience, I saw firsthand how detrimental it can be to reward dysfunctional behavior. From those experiences, I have developed a bias against over-reacting to employees or stakeholders who seemed oversensitive.
For good or bad, my default response to office gossip or veiled complaints has been to note them internally, but ignore them externally. Like a fire without oxygen, the issue will usually resolve itself and fade out.
However, there are times when you need to respond with more than mere acknowledgment. Here are four warning signs every leader should address when they see them.
It’s been said that the organization that has many priorities doesn’t really have any priorities. While each item’s urgency and importance may be apparent to you, it’s not a given that it is that clear to everyone else.
When your team starts to feel that everything is of equal importance and urgency, you have a problem that needs to be quickly addressed. Your team needs to be focused on the priorities. If every new idea immediately goes to the top of the list, it won’t be long until your team not only feels overwhelmed, they will also be reluctant to give it their all because they know that it is only a matter time before that priority is replaced by the next one.
One organization I work with has a reputation for having an excellent staff, but sometimes those same leaders admit that the changing set of priorities keeps them from not giving their best because it feels like it’s not going to matter anyway. That’s a problem good leaders can’t ignore without suffering bad consequences.
I’m not talking about the kind of fatigue that comes from staying up too late every night. I mean, the fatigue that comes from the energy it takes to work hard on something that is important, urgent and not easily nor quickly completed.
Sometimes we can complete important projects relatively quickly. However, as a rule, the more important it is, and the bigger impact it will have, the longer it takes to complete it. Also, the more complex it is, the more “uncontrollable” factors there will be to address, as well as more opposition from others. All of that can be challenging, motivating, and exhilarating, but after a while, it can be mentally and emotionally exhausting, too.
That’s why one of the key things a leader must do is encourage people’s hearts. Leaders put courage into people’s hearts, and they do it individually, creatively and repeatedly because courage leaks out of even your most ardent supporters.
I once observed a leader with a team of five people who tried to execute a huge project under a tight deadline. He successfully articulated the vision and obtained everyone’s buy-in. However, when the project was almost finished, fatigue started to be a factor. Instead of addressing the fatigue, he criticized the fatigued. They finished the project, but unfortunately, the team was also finished with his leadership.
It takes great discernment to distinguish between chronic whining and genuine frustration. The former is dysfunctional; the latter is a warning sign.
Mature leaders don’t have to get their way every time. They still give their all even when the team goes in a different direction than they wanted. When devoted team members feel their views aren’t even considered or heard, then you have a problem.
I once had a team member who worked full-throttle all the time. In the beginning, she would often unleash a description of her workload, and I’d try to find ways to ease her load. But it didn’t work. Eventually, I discovered she didn’t want me to lessen her workload. She wanted to tell me how busy she was! If I took things off her plate, she would add new things. The best way to lead her was simply to listen.
Leaders must listen to their team. Great listeners take an affirming, positive posture that communicates to the person they are safe. Then, they can offer new perspectives without being overly intrusive. The person who can learn the art of listening well is on their way to being someone who leads well.
While the media loves sports teams who play with a “chip on their shoulder,” whether due to a lack of respect or desiring revenge, this is not a good approach to cultivate or tolerate this in the workplace. Today’s business world, in both the private and the public sector, calls for collaboration and cooperation.
Successful organizations need collaboration within the team, as well as with customers and other stakeholders. Fostering an “Usagainst them” culture is not sustainable for long-term health because the definitions for “us” and “them” always changes. Those who begin in the “us” category get moved to the “them” category. Then, those who start as “them” never become “us.” Eventually, the numbers don’t add up.
Wise leaders are reticent to foster that kind of attitude. When you start to hear it, (especially if the person talking is you!) it’s a good time to refocus the conversation and the assumptions that lay beneath the conversation. I understand that sometimes there are non-negotiables, but the quality of your leadership will suffer if you make a big deal out of something that isn’t a big deal. That’s when it becomes a big deal.
Leadership requires discernment. Noticing these warning signs could prevent what you’ve built as a leader from going up in flames.
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Have you ever felt the pull to full-time ministry work as a missionary or pastor? If not, you can still make a Kingdom impact without quitting your current job. In this eBook, you will learn the four essentials that can change your perspective of work, your workplace, and most importantly, your heart.
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