The Vicious Circle of Leadership

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