I propose a new year’s resolution: Take your leadership insecurities to your peer group for review. Consider that you might sometimes be “being right” when you are really being arrogant, and it is costing you credibility.
The downside of “being right” when dealing with a subordinate, can be costly. For example, if an employee isn’t feeling heard, that employee might begin to withhold information which can begin the slippery slope of mis-information, mis-interpretation, and bad feelings.
If you are feeling the least bit uncomfortable while considering the above possibility of arrogance, it might mean you are tapping into your conscience.
Here lies an opportunity to distinguish between arrogance parading as self-esteem, and challenging your assumptions. One source for reflection on that topic is “Acting as if your assumptions are the truth,” number two in the downloadable free report on this website, “Seven Costly Mistakes Senior Executives Make that Cause Performance, Productivity and People to Suffer.”
What if you took your inquiry — or any internal discomfort as a leader— to your peers, not as gossip but as an opportunity to seek suggestions in the name of collaboration, cooperation, teamwork, productivity, authenticity, contributing and being contributed to?
As an executive coach I have witnessed the value of doing so. One manager in particular was reluctant to expose herself to her peers, believing they would think less of her. However, she took the coaching, rallied her courage, and the result was unexpected. She actually garnered MORE respect for having been vulnerable in a situation everyone knew anyway! It was a real lesson for her that the elephant in the room is more visible than most people want to admit.
I recently submitted a white paper for consideration to present at the Conference for Global Transformation in the spring of 2012, the root of which was an inquiry into trustworthiness of business leaders.
The chairman of the review committee said, in accepting the paper for presentation, “I found your paper to be very interesting, particularly how you questioned your own views. I think this is really an important point that should be brought forward….” As a result of that feedback I changed the title of my paper from “Transforming Leadership in Business…” to “Transforming the Leader Within: Questioning Self as Access to Expanded Thinking Capacity.”
What does this bring up for you? Your questions and thoughts make a rich dialog.
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