New leader lacks leadership
By Joan Lloyd
Dear Joan:
Just before the holidays, our department lost its supervisor
and our CEO has opted not to fill the position. The manager that
was under this person is now in charge of the department and
struggles with managing people and has a clear lack of leadership
skills.
Since being left in charge, this manager has not yet made any
effort to learn what any of their subordinates do. And without
leadership and/or direction, the department is struggling.
When other members of the department try and offer assistance,
the manager becomes defensive and sometimes hostile. We are a small
department with a very large workload. I am concerned that the
situation is going to drive people out of the company. Is there
anything I can do to help remedy the situation?
Answer:
This unfortunate situation doesn’t leave you with many
options. Your new manager is resistant and defensive when others
try to help, so it looks like he is walling himself off from the
very thing that could save him.
I suspect he knows he isn’t doing well and doesn’t
want anything jeopardizing his new job and his standing with the
CEO. In some situations I’ve seen teams, who are grossly
dissatisfied with their leader, go to the leader’s boss, but
that can be dicey. If the CEO doesn’t receive the news well,
or bungles the delivery of the information to your boss, your
leader could either be a raging bull or a seething snake.
Similarly, if you go to HR you could get the same result. The
HR manager will feel compelled to intervene and now the two leaders
may even feel more upset because HR is now involved and the poor
hiring selection has been exposed.
A savvy CEO or HR manager may be able to coach the new leader,
or provide an executive coach from the outside. These approaches
would probably be received as help as he learns his new role, if
this is positioned properly. The coach (or HR coach) could lay out
some pathways and techniques in a constructive way and position the
coaching as leadership development.
I recommend that you assess the past record of the HR manager
and/or the CEO and try to predict their reaction and approach. If
you do talk with one of them, I suggest that you choose your words
carefully. For example, “Tom is new in his leader role and
some leadership development could really help him and the
department. For instance, if you or an outside coach worked with
him he may be more willing to learn what we do, provide some
direction for us and be willing to hear our ideas. I’d hate
to see a lot of turnover in the department, since we are so small
and interdependent.”
Don’t be tempted to launch into a long list of his
failings. Instead, be ready with one or two examples that
illustrate the serious lack of skills. Provide a calm recital of
the facts and avoid condemning generalities such as,
“He’s a horrible leader!” “Everyone hates
him!”
If you are afraid that this could backfire, you may have to
keep trying to make upward suggestions. For instance, you might
take the approach that you would benefit from a certain action. For
example, “Since we are all so swamped with work, it would
really help me if we could have a short one-on-one meeting each
week, so I can bring in some questions and get direction on some
tough cases.” Or, “I think it would really help me and
the others if we could get together for an hour or so each week to
discuss this project. I know you’re concerned about us
delivering this project on time and I think it would help us get it
done more efficiently.”
If all attempts fail, you will be back to your biggest
concern—turnover. Once turnover starts, senior management may
take a closer look at what is going on, but don’t count on
it. Often, departing employees will cover the real reason in order
to leave without burning a bridge. Hopefully, the CEO will get
smart before it comes to that.
