Nudge

Wise managers and leaders do a lot of nudging.

Nudging can consist of asking open-ended questions to introduce topics, brainstorming, bringing in speakers who have new ideas, thinking out loud, sending people out in the field, and circulating articles. [It can even, I am told, include referring people to blogs! A dangerous nudge indeed.]

We nudge because we know that simply directing certain actions may create dependency and that the nudged may develop a different approach which is superior to anything currently in mind. By not drawing maps for others, we give them the powerful experience of discovery; an experience that may be far more memorable than clear guidance from the boss.

If you ever reproach yourself for not being the order-barking executive seen in films, relax.

You're probably nudging.

Protecting Your People

In the standard workplace, one of the basic responsibilities of leaders is to put themselves between their followers and upper managers who are abusive or unreasonable.

This can be a challenge since the upper managers who are most likely to cause problems are also the least likely to be responsive to common courtesy and common sense. The unpleasant nature of those characters, however, does not reduce - indeed it increases - the leader's obligation to shield followers.

Some strategies to consider are:

Increase the information flow. If the interrupter is a micromanager, the disruption may come from a desire for information and an assurance that things are getting done. A short status report in the morning and late afternoon may placate those concerns and reduce the tendency to interfere.

Have a direct talk. Tell the upper manager that you want him or her to deal with you directly if a matter or person needs to be corrected. If you are going to be out of the office for several days, designate your temporary replacement as the contact point. Stress the importance that you place on your being the person to correct matters and how going around you reduces your authority.

Distinguish between the event and the reaction. Train your employees in how to deal with difficult people, be they customers or upper management. Note that while they may not be able to control the event (the unpleasant behavior), they can control their reaction so their behavior is always thoroughly professional.

Post and advertise your values. Make "Respect" one of the key values. Let upper management know that you are stressing that with your employees and that it will help if the upper managers exemplify that value.

Will these approaches be fool/jerk-proof? No way. But they can mitigate the effect of unpleasant people while showing your associates that you are not indifferent to their treatment. If the behavior goes above garden variety obnoxiousness, you should seek redress further up the chain of command. There may be a risk in doing so, but that's why you're a leader.

Leaders take risks to protect their people.

Being in Charge

Being in charge of a project means that you are in charge.

It helps to consider a list of people and things that are not responsible for the results:

1. Your team members. They will make important contributions and you should not have to do all of the work, but they are not in charge. You are.


2. The schedule. It can be brutal and unreasonable but it is inanimate. Numbers on pages are not in charge.


3. The resources. You may not have all that you'd wish; in fact, you probably don't. Too bad. Make do with what you have.


4. The goal. If you didn't like the goal, you should have mentioned that before taking on the assignment. You did and got overruled? Then if the project is ethical, do your best to achieve the goal. If the project is unethical, do nothing to implement it.


5. People who promised things and didn't come through. When you are in charge, you are responsible for anticipating such problems, not moaning about them. You should have had a Plan B and perhaps even Plans C and D.


6. Dissenters. Someone doesn't like your approach? Listen carefully. If they have a good point, make a change if doing so with not be harmful. If they don't, proceed with your plan of action. You can't please everyone.


7. Perfectionists. Your plan has flaws? All plans do. Don't let prolonged analysis turn into paralysis. You're in charge. Make things happen.

"My brave fellows"

Richard Brookhiser, speaking at Hillsdale College, on the character of George Washington:

One of the most striking instances of Washington turning attention from himself to others is what I believe to be the only authentic utterance we have from him on a battlefield. Of course, after he died, old veterans remembered a lot of things he said in battle. But much of this was embroidered: There was a General Scott, for instance, who remembered Washington at the battle of Monmouth cursing at General Charles Lee. “He swore like an angel from Heaven,” Scott recalled. “He swore ’til the leaves shook on the trees. Never in my life have I heard such wonderful swearing.” The problem is, General Scott at the time was two miles away, so unless he had bionic ears, he didn’t hear anything. There is one phrase, however, that comes up over and over again in the accounts of many different people, for which reason I suspect it’s a real quote. It’s a phrase Washington used to address his troops – “my brave fellows.”

At the battle of Princeton, Washington is reported to have said, “Parade with me, my brave fellows. We will have them soon.” Before the battle of Trenton, when he was trying to get the troops to re-enlist, he said: “My brave fellows, you have done more than could be expected of you. But I’m asking you to do this one more thing and re-enlist.” Time and again he uses this phrase. And in doing so, of course, he’s asserting what remains to be seen: The soldiers, at the moment he addresses them, are not necessarily showing bravery. They may be confused. They may not know what is expected of them. They may be on the point of panic or fear. But he addresses them as “my brave fellows” to motivate them.

This is not the only way to motivate troops. Other generals have done it differently. Frederick the Great would say to his troops, “Do you dogs want to live forever?” That’s one way to do it. But Washington’s way was to say, “my brave fellows,” which means, “My fellows, be brave.”