I was meeting with Terry, and the topic was one of her key leaders in a department which significantly impacted customer service. My concerns where we’d received multiple complaints about how he was treating his staff, department turnover was up and through exit interviews we knew it was related to him as a leader. To validate the data I had, I also asked people I knew within her division about him, and the responses were the same, “he is a problem.” They also said, “For some reason, she seems to protect him.” I shared what I knew with Terry and asked for her perspective and what plans she had. The response was, “I’ve been working with him”, but she didn’t say he was making progress. I pushed for evidence of progress and instead she said, “I care about him and want to give him every opportunity to succeed.” That’s nice. When I asked if she cared about the staff under him who were frustrated and leaving the organization she had no answer, only a blank stare, followed meekly by, “I want to help him.” Without authority to make Terry do anything, I encouraged her to talk with other leaders who worked with him, consider the impact of delaying a decision further and decide what was best for her division and the department.
It was clear to me she knew she had a problem but was hesitating to act. It’s a blind spot for many leaders who won’t act when it relates to a leader on their team.
While each situation is unique, I’ve experienced 3 common reasons.
- Hope – Yes, many very smart people hold onto hope, hoping with time the leader will get better. The problem is Hope is not a tactic; it’s a belief that things will get better. Often the leader has no evidence that would make any rational person believe things will become better. Hope only works if you have a track record to base your hope on. It shouldn’t be based on their resume, instead there must be tangible proof they can do what is needed which you or others have observed? Since you spoke with them (an important first step), have they shown you directly or do you have another way to corroborate their progress? Words like, “I will get better”, are meaningless without observable actions, otherwise it’s a delaying tactic.
- Lack of evidence – A leader’s success is based on team productivity, not their contribution. Because of this, their work is less tangible, providing a built-in excuse for a leader to ignore instincts and say, “I don’t see it.” Of course not, and it’s rare their team members will go over their head to you because they don’t know how you will receive it and what the consequences will be. They keep quiet, sometimes even when asked.
- Fear of conflict – Leaders are human and many, maybe most, don’t like conflict and would rather avoid it. It could be their personality, or possibly in the past when they’ve confronted someone, they either heard a bunch of b*%l s&*t, or it turned into an unpleasant debate. Those experiences make them avoid confronting another leader, especially when it isn’t black or white.
The reason doesn’t matter; delaying has two significant costs.
- People on the team – There are people who work indirectly for you who must tolerate a bad work environment. They are silently begging you to act, to do something that helps them. If they see no action from you and things get worse, they will leave. Turnover is costly, and do you remember the law of turnover? The ones who leave are the ones you don’t want to lose, those you could accept leaving stay. Losing the wrong people from your team is doubly expensive.
- Trust of you as a leader – Your reputation suffers. Those directly impacted by a bad leader don’t know if you don’t see it or see it but don’t care enough about them. Neither is good for you. Sometimes the mess is so big all your peers know what’s going on and they wonder why you tolerate it. If you can’t or won’t fix something in your own area, what else can you be trusted with?
Don’t delay when your instincts tell you there is a problem. Address issues in a timely manner. It’s better for the leader, the team and the organization.
But I am in deep trouble. Rush to my aid, for only you can help and save me. O Lord, don’t delay. Psalm 70:5 (TLB)
