The Shortcomings of a Leader

I was at our HR Manager's Face to Face most of the week. We reviewed supervisor's responses to an HR satisfaction survey and plotted a course for a new direction. There were great conversations and the requisite action plans developed. We were doing and saying the right things but sitting there those few days, I could not see how I could possibly get my department to where we needed to go.

Wanted - Rigor. Rigor in our processes, in our documentation, in our tracking, in our thoughts. Rigor in recording, measuring, assessing, evaluating and responding. Rigor in owning the areas we simply are not producing the desired results in and rigor in acknowledging and owning our successes. From another perspective, rigor in looking to the future and not getting mired down by the past. Rigor in figuring out what really is going on instead of giving in to temptations to complain.

I could go to work on Monday and mandate rigor, but I won't. I won't  because I know that I would be setting  individuals up to fail. 

If the strengths of a leader can lift a team, what impact do the shortcomings of a leader have on a team?

I appreciate Your HR Guy's recent  post about working smarter not harder and want to add that "smarter" can include addressing staffing in addition to processes and technology.  I waited too long to request more staff.  Ah, I could justify the delay in many ways but bottom line, in my heart of hearts, I felt that I should be able to do it with the resources I had and that to ask for more resources was admitting I could not get it done.  My shortcoming.

Lisa Kogan Tells All and hits the mark when she shares that her crabbiness factor sky-rockets when she feels overextended and undervalued. Mine too. I vent and, at times, I can vent too widely. While I was busy complaining, I was not seeing the tenuous position my staff was put in as they tried to balance their dedication to me with their service to the recipients of my misery and impatience. My shortcoming.

My relationship with other medical center leaders impacts perceptions of my staff and their capabilities as well as the ability of my staff to actually accomplish tasks. I have high expectations for leaders and as some fell short of those expectations, I tired of managing up. My shortcoming.

With my fight or flight responses back in check and my internal locus of control, I know that I can impact each of these areas. And I will. My strength.

Do the Right Thing - From the Get Go

Our job as leaders is to do the right thing. With employees, that translates to following the agreements, being respectful, treating employee's equitably and yes, it even means  giving them the benefit of the doubt sometimes. 

If an employee does the higher graded work, give them the temporary promotion. If they have used a large number of sick days but it has been for a chronically ill child and they schedule the days off in advance with you, advance them the sick leave they need. If they are returning from maternity leave and need to change their administrative time to coincide with their breaks to breast feed - don't question it, just do it.

Our job as leaders is to do the right thing from the get go. It is frustrating to me as both an HR Manager and leader when I see the right things occur only after the Union becomes involved. First off, I really am not big on putting feathers in the Union cap. Secondly, when you really get down to it, it starts to looks like our employees need the union to get fair and equitable treatment. 

Union 1, Management 0 - shame on us.