Why Skeptics Make Great Leaders

Posted on February 18, 2010
Filed Under Leadership Training, Management Styles | Leave a Comment

I have been talking a lot on this blog about what makes a great manager and a great leader, especially in this time of unprecedented generational shift in the workforce. Steve Tobak recently posted a great piece on why skeptics – not the perpetual optimists – make great leaders.

His points are well made and relevant, especially in this challenging economy. His arguments are also very challenging to typical corporate cultures!

Every company’s got them: cynics, skeptics, naysayers, negatrons, pessimists, doubting Thomases, call them what you want, I’m sure you’ve got one in your group. To them, consensus is a four-letter word. Instead of going along with the pack, they just bring everyone else down by turning meetings into nightmares.

Who needs them, right?

Well, let’s see. Um, you do. Your company does. Don’t get it? Okay, let me explain by turning this around a bit and asking you a question:

What value do you assign folks who 1) are so politically correct that they have to make everything sound nice so as not to offend anyone, 2) dumb everything down to the least common denominator, 3) sugarcoat the cold, hard truth, 4) are yes-men or women, 5) tell you what they think you want to hear, 6) go along with the pack so meetings don’t go on forever, or 7) do things a certain way because that’s the way they’ve always been done?

If you want to be a successful manager or leader, your answer should either be “not much” or “that’s a trick question: fire their butts.” That’s right, because there’s no place for folks who fit that description in a company that expects to deliver the next great product, support highly demanding customers, take market share from tough competitors, and deliver increasing shareholder value.

Read the entire article here. In a related article, Tobak also highlighted the top twenty ways to screw up your management career, which points back to a lot of issues we have discussed here. He focuses quite a bit on communication, which is also incredibly important for managers of multiple generations.

20 Ways to Screw Up Your Management Career:

1. Stop asking questions.
2. Take it personally.
3. Micromanage.
4. Distance yourself from employees.
5. Distance yourself from customers.
6. Play it safe.
7.Test moral, ethical, or legal limits.
8. Hire yes-men (or women) you can control.
9. Overpromise and under-deliver.
10. Engage your mouth before your brain.
11. Stick to your guns.
12. Work beneath your capability.
13. Ignore what the market is telling you.
14. Ignore your gut instincts.
15. Fight too many battles on too many fronts.
16. Coast.
17. Focus solely on your own little world.
18. Become big and bloated.
19. Lose your sense of humor and humility.
20. Let your inner child reign.

Read the full article here. And, for more management tips, download my recent webinar “4 Sales Tactics Sales Managers Must Know to Successfully Coach: 3 Generations of B2B Buyers”.

More soon! Dave

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