Recently, a TEC member of mine promoted a bright young man to the position of General Sales Manager. The bright young man had performed well in a series of increasingly responsible positions within the company. The promotion gave him a significant opportunity in prime time.
Within one month, under the direction of the new General Sales Manager, sales increased and margins improved. The second month was even better. During the third month the company achieved record sales and profits. Truth be told, after surviving the downturn in the business cycle, the company and the CEO needed a big time boost in top line revenue and Gross Profit.
Unfortunately, the management style of the bright young man appeared to change after he was afforded more authority. His leadership style became directive. He created inter-department animosity with his new found command and control persona. In short, he became a bully.
My TEC member had experienced bullies before. When he was about 8 years old, he recalled having to punch the neighborhood bully in the mouth to get him to go away. The bully never bothered him again.
He also knew that the management style of the new General Sales Manager flew directly in the face of the team building effort on which he had been working for the past several years. The question was more sales, more margin and more money now or declaring "an intolerable."
My member chose the intolerable. He told the bright young man the negative effect the intolerable behavior was having on the organization. He also told the story of the bully from his childhood. He made it clear....real clear....that this type of behavior would not be tolerated regardless of the short term gain. It was "an intolerable."
The bright young man took it in stride. He said he understood. He would change his behavior. He was sure he could get the job done without the intolerable. Time will tell.
TEC Resource Specialist, Pat Murray, describes the concept of intolerables in his presentation titled "Leadership...The Inside Moves." If you would like a CD copy of the presentation, please let me know.
Do your people know The Intolerables?
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BUSINESS 101 (From the days of an old TEC guy)
ReplyDeleteManagers who bully, browbeat, humiliate, or harass demonstrate their ignorance. They do not understand from whence they obtained their authority to manage. Truly understanding the source of a manager's authority to direct and control the activities of others is the basis for enlightened management.
It starts with understanding that a business organization is a voluntary association of individuals. It is the knowledge that the authority to manage is not a downwardly delegated authority. It does not come from on-high.
The authority to manage is an upwardly delegated authority. Each individ¬ual has certain intrinsic rights that only s/he can voluntary delegate to oth¬ers. In business situations, this is done in the interests of achieving mutual benefits. Individuals surrender their rights of self-direction for their own best interests. They believe they can produce more advantageously working for another than they can by working for themselves.
When individuals take on management responsibility they are implicitly striking an ongoing bargain. In return for the right to direct and control the activities of an individual the manager assumes an obligation to provide direction and control so as to yield results for the individual that are superior to what the individual could attain on his or her own.
Managers are morally obligated to provide a return to the individuals they manage that is superior to the return the employee believes s/he could obtain by pur¬suing alternative opportunities. It behooves managers at all levels to bear constantly in mind that individuals can rescind their upwardly delegated authority whenever they chose.
They quit.
R.C. Kuhns
Vistage Sued by Long Time CEO Group Member for $5.3 Million. Please See Press Release at www.MemberLawsuit.com. Please contact us if you have had a similar experience.
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