Leadership •Mociei
Leadership Perspective
C u l t i v a t e b o t h c h a r a c t e r a n d c o m p e t e n c e .
by David A. Barrett
N TODAY S CHANGING
world where people
are looking for more
than just a paycheck, leadership is at
the top of the needs list. Today's mantra
is, "Do more with less, eliminate
waste, and run lean." This is not an
arbitrary mandate to increase profits;
for many, it's about survival. In this
fast-paced, competitive, challenging
and ever-changing world, leadership
makes all the difference, especially in
an organization that believes strongly
that people are its competitive advan-
tage and that it is possible to care about
employees and still make money. This
both-and philosophy has led to the
creation of a leadership model that
creates and maintains a focus on both
productivity and people.
There is always the perennial
debate about leadership versus man-
agement. Ultimately we understand
that managers must be leaders, and
leaders need to be managers at times.
Just like productivity and people, it's
a both-and proposition.
Occasionally I'm asked to become
involved in performance issues with
those who supervise or manage oth-
ers. Part of the performance improve-
ment process is to talk with the
supervisor's em^ployees. In these
interviews, I typically hear one of two
things. Employees may say, "1 really
like my supervisor. He treats us well,
with dignity and respect. He is always
communicating and encouraging us,
but it's also frustrating because I don't
think he knows what he is doing.
Nothing seems to go right; it's chaos,
and he seems lost. He is more worried
about being a friend and doesn't hold
the poor performers accountable." In
this case, the employee is not ques-
tioning the super\'isor's leadership
skills but his managerial skills and
getting the task part of the job done.
Sometimes I hear comments like,
"Our shift can really pump the prod-
ucts out because our supervisor is
good at organizing and pushing peo-
ple to meet our production goals. If
there are any problems, our supervi-
sor can handle them. But T really don't
like working for her. She treats us with
disrespect and pushes us with no con-
cern for our feelings or well-being. She
uses threats and intimidation to get
the work done." In this case, employ-
ees are not queshoning the supervi-
sor's managerial skills but rather her
leadership skills. Employees know
both-and supervisors when they work
for them, and they know what either-
or supervisors look like. Supervisors
have a tough job, but getting the prod-
uct out the door is only half the job.
Our model illustrates what both-
and leadership looks like—effective
leadership that gets the job done while
treating employees with respect.
Whether this model provides benefit
or not depends on the culture and its
COMPETENT LEADER MODEL
LEADERSHIP CHARACTER
SenBitiviEv lo l o t Huniw Elamenl-
i people Aitii dignny, respecl, Kindness S
people philosophy. However, if you
believe in people as well as productiv-
ity or profit, this model may help.
The vertical axis represents man-
agerial competence, which includes
things like managerial task skills, men-
tal toughness and making fhe tough
decisions. It's about getting the job
done. The horizontal axis is the leader-
ship character side, which means sen-
sitivity to the human element and
treating people with dignity, respect,
kindness and consideration.
If you have good managerial skills,
people will respect you because they
look at you as someone who can get
the job done. If you do not have good
managerial skills, you will not be
respected because you are incompe-
tent and can't get the job done. If you
have high leadership character, then
you are liked as a leader because of
how you treat people. If you have a
low leadership character or concern for
people, then you won't be liked
because of how you treat people.
Let's look at each box and discuss
the extremes—the farthest corners in
each box. Each axis is a continuum,
and every leader or manager falls
somewhere on this model.
• In the lower left-hand box, we see
the manager who not only can't get
the job done but doesn't treat people
well. It makes it a very tough place to
work. Managers in this box are not
respected and are not liked, so they are
in essence an "incompetent jerk."
• In the lower right-hand box, we see
the manager who tries to be everyone's
friend, who treats people very well and
has a tendency to overlook perfor-
mance issues in the name of being a
"pal." After all, if they like me, they
will perform for me. Unfortunately, this
manager is considered an "incompe-
tent joke," someone who can be manip-
ulated. People do not get the job done
because there are no consequences for
poor performance.
• In the upper left-hand box, we will
find the manager who has great tech-
nical or task skills and gets the job done.
These managers also have no problem
making the tough decisions. However,
when they make their decision, it is
without consideration for the employ-
ees' opinions or feelings. So a manager
in this category is considered a "com-
petent jerk." People who work for
such managers will do the minimum
required to keep their job and eventu-
ally leave. People rarely quit compa-
nies, but rather they quit the boss.
• The most effective managers and
leaders are those who treat people well
and get the job done. They are consid-
ered competent leaders, and people
love to work for them. Employees will
give this manager and the organiza-
tion their "discretionary effort." They
will do all in their power to make a
manager like this be successful.
I find this model helpful. When I get
involved in a performance intervention
with a manager or leader, I find that
they are either in the competent jerk or
incompetent joke box, based on
employee feedback. Where are you as a
leader? What type of leaders do you
want in your organization? LE
David A. Barrett is director ofHR and kadcrsbip det'eiofmiefit at
Cascade Engineering. He Tegiiiarly speaks on Best Practices in
Succession Plarming & Talent Maiigement. www.CascadeNG.com
ACTION: Use a model to develop leaders.