WHERE ARE THE STRONG UNPOPULAR LEADERS?

HERE’S THE THING!

Every Sunday, Carte Blanche exposes laziness, incompetence and shocking failure of service delivery. “We” are all astounded, we shake our heads and we shout that the leaders, specifically the heads of the various departments, should be held accountable. When confronted, these leaders fain surprise, make excuses, blame underlings, act ignorant and promise to “look into things”.

I believe the blame lies squarely on managers, supervisors, directors, CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and any other “O” who is a main “O”. Basically, the people whose job it is to make sure that staff actually do their jobs.

On almost every pre-program questionnaire I send out, one of the issues leaders ask me to address is accountability, ownership and how to treat the job as if it was their own company. My first response is always: “Well, how are YOU holding them accountable?”.Let’s face it, if nobody is checking up on them, if there is no accountability, if there are no consequences why the hell are they going to do their job? Your job, as the person in authority, is to get your staff to answer the bloody phone. Your job is to get your staff to do their jobs. It’s your job to motivate, cajole, coerce, kick, scream, explain, and get them to do their jobs. If you can’t do the job of getting your people to do their jobs, then you are not doing your job.

The real problem is that most managers or people in senior positions hate conflict. They believe that they are there to be liked and to be popular, so they don’t rock the boat. My research has shown that up to 80% of managers will not hold staff accountable for fear of conflict.Did you get that? 80% of the shocking, dismal, pathetic service goes unchecked because managers are too scared to hold people accountable. They just shift the complaints to the 20% who actually do their jobs, thereby putting them under stress and creating a culture of resentment.

There seems to be such a need to be Mr. Popular or Mrs. Friendly which then means that no one is chastised for not doing his or her job. This country is crying out for leadership and it’s not only in government.If Carte Blanche gives you intel about your company that you didn’t already know – YOU ARE FIRED! Hand over the keys, the expense account, the debentures, the shares, the bonuses, and shaded parking; and allow a grown-up to run the company – someone with balls who can make decisions and hold people accountable. It is your job to know if a customer has taken to social media as a final measure, and unless you have already fired someone – you’re fired.

In my past life when I was a boss, I was not very popular. I wasn’t popular because I was the one that held people accountable.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?

Will you be popular? Not with the slackers and the lazy people. But you will be loved and admired by the customers, the hard workers, your superiors and the shareholders.

THE HOW TO

• • Let them go if they didn’t reach target as per the terms and conditions of the employment contract.
  • Insisted on discipline, protocol and service delivery, no matter the hour.
  • Show me a miserable staff member and I will show you thier miserable manager, senior manager or CEO. Change your attitude and watch theirs change.
  • Come out from behind your glass office, your shade netted parking area, and start leading by example.
  • Hold people accountable and insist that they keep fighting the good fight. Yes, you will be called unfair, you will be called a hard arse, you will be called a racist, you will be called a misogynist, you will be called unreasonable, and on and on, but that’s part of being a leader. If you want friends, get Facebook. If you want to lead, you are going to have to take the blows.
  • Set up systems that force them to take ownership and lays out consequences for non-performance.
  • Stop making excuses and lead.
  • Stop complaining and lead.
  • Stop pointing fingers and lead.
  • Stop being absent and lead.
  • Stop backing away from conflict and lead.

• Stop trying to cover your own arse, get involved and lead.
• Stop hiding behind gatekeepers and lead.
• Stop hiding in your office and get on the floor, be seen, walk around, sit in on meetings and listen in on phone calls in your call centre and lead.
• Stop going to lunches and golf days and lead.
• Stop having meetings, oh my word, STOP HAVING MEETINGS about customer service and walk out the door or answer the phone. The customer is waiting to speak to you, lead. Don’t have meetings about me, talk to me; I’m waiting in the lobby.
• Stop giving them a pass and lead.
• Stop making excuses for them and lead.
• Stop blaming others, show them, teach them, let them do it in front of you.
• Have the balls to LEAD.

Staff need to know the boundaries, and they thrive on tough love. People need direction.

TROUBLE SHOOTING

Do you always have to be a tough nut?  

Yes. You may have a heart of gold but so does a hard-boiled egg. It always amazes me how today, people speak about Steve Jobs as a great visionary leader, yet anybody who actually worked for him would tell you he was the toughest, most uncompromising person. He was a stickler for deadlines, initiative, accountability, and he wielded a big axe. Great leaders lead by example. The staff and the people know where they stand, and they know about all the expectations and standards that are expected of them. They know the consequences if they do not perform. They also know that the leader is fair and firm. Their leader is their motivator who inspires them to go out every day and get results.

People love to be led, people need to be led, people thrive on boundaries and firm leadership. Just like a child. They want a strong, confident, competent, firm, fair, fun, inspiring parent who doesn’t take any nonsense; A parent who is not afraid to correct their behaviour and who expects, no demands, that they deliver “only their best”. People need to be inspired every morning to go out and face the public and the customers. To come back bruised and beaten by the experiences of the harsh economic climate, the tough customers, and the unfair guerrilla tactics of the opposition.  And when they drag themselves, all battle worn, back into the office at the end of the day, they need a strong Platoon Sergeant, Company Commander or General to welcome them back; to patch up their wounds, to inspire them, to believe in them, and to motivate them to go back into the field and face down the enemy again.

They need to see your battle scars and to hear your war stories on how you came out alive and thriving in the end. And no matter how tough it gets, there is always tomorrow and you will be right there, with them, pushing them and stretching them and making them better.

They need a damn leader, not an excuse maker or someone who’s not even there most of the time. Knowing that they have a true leader back at home base that understands them and their challenges, gives them strength. Knowing that their General (manager) is in the trenches with them, makes them not only do the right thing, but it also gives them the confidence to achieve almost anything.

You can’t tell a true leader anything about her company because she runs it ! She is there and sees things as they happen. She has no slackers because she fires them as they slack and she KNOWS WHAT’S GOING ON. She has dedicated, hard working performers that will follow her anywhere because she is as kind as she is ruthless.

The best manager I ever worked with was tough, uncompromising, and unmoving on matters of delivery, honour, integrity and doing your job. He was firm but fair.

I dedicate this piece to Captain Smith. Also known as Captain “Fleckie”. We called him “patchy” because he would become so angry when people didn’t do their jobs that the blood rushed from his face leaving only patches of red and white skin. We both feared him and respected him because he held us to a higher standard. He was one of the toughest men I ever worked for but he taught me how to be a true leader and not to shy away from holding people accountable and the conflict it came with. Wherever you are today Sir, I salute you.

Now stop reading this stuff and go out and LEAD.