November
30, 2016
The
Vicious Circle of Leadership
The
vicious circle for leaders per Obolensky is:
1.
Follower
asks for advice – demonstrates low skill to the leader
2.
Leader
gets concerned
3.
Leader
takes a more hands on approach
4.
Follower’s
confidence lowers
5.
Follower
thinks he has to defer more
These
steps are illustrated as a vicious circle on page 162 of Obolensky’s book
(Obolensky, 2016).
This
vicious circle happens at the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD). Part of the reason that this happens is
because CCAD in the past did not typically promote employees that would make
good supervisors. CCAD tended to promote
the best artisans into management positions.
This was, and still is, a tendency to confuse good mechanical skills and
knowledge with leadership ability. Many
shops have suffered with poor leadership in which supervisors promoted beyond
their capabilities end up getting into the vicious circle and do not have a
clue on how to break the cycle.
The
effects on the organization is poor morale and a great distrust of upper management. Upper management makes the selections for
supervisors. Therefore, if their
selections are poor, then the artisans suffering under the “rule” of upper
management’s choice, they blame upper management for their
short-sightedness. This leads to an
un-necessary migration of capable employees into the unacceptable level of I
& II followership (Obolensky page 159, 2016).
To
break this vicious circle, a new circle needs to be created. Since CCAD doesn’t have a sales, marketing,
or distribution departments, the new circle would encompass Finance/Accounting
and operations. Here is an alternate
circle:
1.
Follower
asks for advice and is asked for his opinion on how to solve the issue
2.
Leader
feels less burdened by answering questions that he feels subordinates should
know
3.
Leader
continues to empower his employees and actively solicit their input on
decisions
4.
Follower’s
confidence and morale climb to new heights
5.
Follower’s
productivity and job satisfaction reach record levels
Some
may feel that this is an overly optimistic scenario. It may well be. However, the longest journey begins with the first
step. Communication and the ability for
supervisors to develop their subordinates seems like a good place to start.
John
H2O
Reference:
Obolensky, Nick. (2016). Complex Adaptive Leadership
2nd Edition. New York: Routledge