Posts Tagged ‘Leadership and Failures’
What If We Fail…
India meets Australia tomorrow – the semi-final of ICC World Cup 2015. The game we all have been waiting for… a game in which billions of Indians all over the world don’t want Dhoni and men to fail… a game, where victory is being treated like a need, where failure isn’t an option.
I am feeling quite restless. What if we fail tomorrow? What if the journey of the Indian team’s world cup ends tomorrow? The same team, which fared extremely poorly down under in last 4 months and which almost has risen like a Phoenix in last 7 matches of this tournament. What if they lose now…
In this hour of my restlessness, I find solace and hope in the words of a very old advertisement I had read. It was by Bajaj Auto, and if I recall right, was a campaign for the motorcycle brand ‘Bajaj Caliber.’ I read it long, long ago, loved it and noted it in my diary. It has, since then, helped me sail through some of my own tough moments;
What are we going to do when we fail?
When we find the wrong kind of tears,
running down our cheeks.
When we look at our Gods
and see mortals instead.
When the sports page
reads like an obituary.
When we know all others are
celebrating our grief.
What are we going to do when we fail?
We’re going to look up from our toes.
And into the sun. Without flinching.
We’re going to walk out there alone.
Again.
Grit our teeth.
Take guard.
And wait for the next ball.
Like a true fan, I too would love India to win tomorrow. But more than that, I would love the game of cricket to win, the game to stay belonged to the gentlemen, where we are allowed to fail at time… and not crucified for it.
Do You Allow Mistakes To Your Team?
My first boss taught me a lot many things, which benefitted my personal and professional life. He was a true leader and from him, I learnt some invaluable lessons in people leadership.
As a budding and raring HR professional back then, one of his sentences that gave me tremendous confidence and encouragement was:
“You cannot make any such mistake that I cannot correct…”
This one sentence acted as a big motivator for a youngster like me. It helped me take well-intentioned risks, encouraged me to push the envelope, be courageous in my actions and at the same time, instilled a sense of ownership and responsibility in me, that I shouldn’t let him down. The authenticity of his leadership made me believe that his support is there for me; that he has my back.
Over the period of last 8 years, as I graduated to become a people leader myself, this learning had an indelible mark on my way of working. I could see myself quite naturally extending the similar support to my teammates. And this one sentence helped me build an open, sincere, courageous and high-performance teams, year after year.
As these teams became bigger, and my lieutenants moved ahead from being individual contributors to people leaders, this culture of allowing mistakes only strengthened; supporting bold but well-meaning actions, without the fear of boss’s backlash in event of a failure – it all added to the overall performance of the team.
We all became better together; thanks to my learning from that one simple, authentic and powerful sentence. I am sure, wherever the team-members would go, as their careers take them, as and when they form new teams, they would foster the genuine culture of ‘allowing mistakes’. And that is what I call the magic of authentic leadership.
This is what I found to be a fundamental tenet of leadership; it works for me. Now, it is your turn. Do share your experiences. Do you allow your teams their genuine share of mistakes? Are you allowed to fail at times? Have you encountered managers who lose it when their subordinates make mistakes?
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Photo-credit: mactoons.com
PS: You may like reading this old post I wrote on leadership and failure: Leadership and Failure
10 Mean Things You Shouldn’t Say To Your Star Performers…
Well, you are the boss. And like to believe that you are a good one. You lead a bunch of smart, hardworking and well-intentioned subordinates or, as I call, teammates.
These subordinates are real stars; they are result-oriented, ownership-driven and work with high passion & commitment. They have a reputation of delivering consistent results.
And then, there are those rare few occasions, when these smart, hardworking and well-intentioned teammates make mistakes; sometimes, really silly ones.
Well, since you are the boss, the said mistake of your teammate makes you suffer poor results, undue embarrassment and/or undesired pressure from seniors, you get to hear not-so-nice words from your own boss, and what not.
And with all the right and might of being the boss, you would like to reprimand the one who erred.
Oho! That could be really tricky.
Many of otherwise well-meaning, well-respected and admired managers make an uncalled for error on such occasions. They end up saying undermentioned ten sentences whilst engulfed in the fist of fury, or shall I say, in a weak moment of lapse of good judgement. These 10 sentences, once uttered, can be the real deal-breakers for the motivation of your star subordinates.
Let’s see what they are:
- “Well, you are really turning casual in your approach these days.”
- “You let me down, terribly. How could you?”
- “I should not have trusted you with this big responsibility.”
- “I trusted you, and you broke it.”
- “Henceforth, don’t even try this. Let ABC do it.”
- “Can’t you do just one simple thing right?”
- “I knew it. You are just not up to the mark.”
- “You failed all of us.”
- “It is because of your stupidity that the entire team suffered embarrassment.”
- “You will not be able to successfully complete this. Let me take it back from you.”
Well, well, well… there you go. Above cut-&-dry sentiments, once verbalized whether using same words or similar, leave a casting negative impact on the recipient. Worst, it affects their personal sense of dignity and hurts their self-pride. Remember, the very fact that these are your star performers also makes them feel a higher sense of pride in themselves and their achievements as a professional. As a result, such criticism hits them even harder.
One such sentence, uttered in one such momentary lapse of good sense, ends up alienating your star teammate from you, most of the times. And that is where the entire disengagement at work begins.
Dangerous, isn’t it? Then think of it, do you too say similar things when your star performer goofs up?
I encourage you to share your experiences when you were the recipient of such a bashing. I am sure our experiences will help many managers reflect and become better leaders…
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Image-credit: chrismower.com
