Aren’t sure if you do? Have always worked for your current employer and therefore don’t have a frame of reference to use? Have worked for multiple employers and all of them treated you the same- and, therefore- you don’t know if that is good? Or bad?
How Do You Know If You Work For a cowardly leader?
That is why Cowardly Leadership-Up Close and Personal is here! So as we kick off 2018, let’s determine if you, in fact, work for a cowardly leader.
I’ve been fortunate enough to work in a variety of environments, and in only two cases did I work for a cowardly leader. In both of those, it was a miserable experience. Working for a coward ensures that you will be micro-managed and sacrificed for the whims of the ominipotent one who knows all. Thankfully, the great majority of my experiences have been positive, and the great majority of those I have worked for have been Real Leaders. Thus, the cowards stand out even more. Additionally, Liz Ryan, writing in Forbes, outlines some ways to identify the kind of environment you may find yourself in.
You may experience any one of the below factors in almost any work environment. But if you are routinely experiencing two or more, it’s likely you work for a cowardly leader.
Your Input Isn’t Wanted
Major policy changes are implemented with no warning and with no opportunity for input. Major policy changes should give large departments and organizations the chance to weigh in on the front end. When they are forced, top-down, with a “We are in charge and therefore we know best” attitude, it’s almost automatic that many of the challenges that will happen during implementation were overlooked or ignored. Real leaders want to know what the problems are that could occur, in order to weed them out before implementation takes place. After all, a Real Leader wants the smoothest roll-out possible.
A corollary to this is the cowardly leader who not only implements major policy changes, but ignores existing policy at their whim. This is often true in the most political forms of government, where today’s policy is ignored tomorrow due to how the political winds may blow. If you’re a Real Leader, it’san almost impossible environment to work in.
Guidance and Evaluation is Non-existent
Almost every organization is required to have annual performance reviews. But does your supervisor give you feedback on a regular basis? Do you get ongoing guidance after each event, or project? Does your boss check in and offer informal suggestions for improvement? Guidance from a Real Leader is an everyday event. Cowardly leaders do it annually, and then only because they are forced to.
You-and Your Staff-Are an Afterthought
Cowardly leaders move employees in and out of your organization without your knowledge or input. Because they are “the boss,” they have the right to place any political appointment anywhere they wish, regardless of how it may impact the organization, or your strategy for staff team building. Decisions regarding staff are based on political favors, not what is the best for the organization-and for the citizens and clients you serve.
Extra Hours-Weekends-Nights?
All professionals understand and expect to work long hours during special events and at critical times of the year: budget prep time; weather emergencies; staff training, etc. You willingly work the hours for the good of the organization and the citizens. You will know you work for a cowardly leader when they rarely thank or acknowledge you for doing so.
Their Treatment of You as an Employee Differs
Managers treat you as equals and are politely professional- in public. When it is to their advantage to look like the altruistic manager, they will do so. But one-on-one, their demeanor and attitude does a 180 degree reversal. You are a tool and a means for them to accomplish whatever personal objectives they desire. Whenever a manager treats you one way in public, and another in private, it is a strong indication that they are a cowardly leader.
A Fearful, Tense, Rule-Bound Workplace
The #1 indicator you work for a cowardly leader is their focus on maintaining and nurturing a workplace where you feel inadequate and insignificant. Making suggestions for the good of the organization is discouraged.
Any other trait can be present at one time or another in most organizations. But when you work in an environment where you are hesitant to speak up and question why, anything else doesn’t really matter- you are working for a cowardly leader in a cowardly organization. Cowardly leaders are so insecure and power-centric, they instill an environment of fear regarding the freedom to offer suggestions, or to question why certain decisions that affect the organization have been made.
What to do About it
Everyone needs a job. Realizing and discovering you work for a cowardly leader doesn’t mean you have options to do much about it. However, as Lucy states, “The mere fact that you realize that you need help means you are not too far gone.”
If you thought that working in a cowardly environment, as described above, was “normal”, it’s not. If you thought “Leaders” lead through power, they don’t. At least not Real Leaders. And if you never realized you were in a cowardly environment, realizing that you in fact are is an important first step.
There are no magic bullets. The two cowardly leaders I used to work for are still in place, and are still making decisions based on politics and how it benefits them personally, not the organization.
But I know they are, and I know they do. That’s important, too.
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