Dear Madeleine,
I was recently promoted from being a team supervisor to being interim manager for a department that is new to me. I am not at all familiar with the processes and systems this unit has been using. All the members are expert in things I have only a glancing knowledge of, and there is a lot to learn.
I have heard many of my new direct reports refer to their former manager (someone I didn’t know who has left the organization) as “Godzilla.” Clearly, they all hated her. I am not sure what she did to make so many enemies. I worry that asking about this would be counterproductive and make me look like a gossip.
I have been studying good leadership through Blanchard and others, so I have a good idea of what I should be doing on that front. Could you please help me get crystal clear on those things I definitely should not do, so that I can avoid repeating the mistakes of my predecessor?
Newbie Trying to Get It Right
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Dear Newbie Trying to Get It Right,
Thanks for asking! You are smart to focus on what not to do, because the wide-open field of what to do can feel overwhelming. As we work with leaders to increase their effectiveness, I wonder sometimes if we aren’t asking leaders to become superheroes. One thing is clear: becoming a great leader is a lifelong endeavor.
Look, if you really want to avoid making mistakes with your new team, tell them the truth and ask them to give you feedback if you ever do anything that isn’t working. Just remember that nobody is perfect and we all have bad days. Also, what is OK for one person won’t be OK for another.
If anyone does give you feedback, don’t defend yourself, just say “thank you” and take it under advisement. You can figure out if the offending behavior is specific to the person giving the feedback (for example, how you praise—not everyone likes to be praised publicly, while others do) or if the feedback is generally useful.
Make your own checklist of best practices you have collected so far, and work to avoid doing the opposite of each one. For example, the lesson in Catch People Doing Things Right (Martha Lawrence’s biography of Ken Blanchard) is that it probably isn’t a great idea to always focus on what people are doing wrong.
You might also study the work of Andrew Schmidt, who developed this Toxic Leadership Scale. A former client cited this work in an article and I was a little blown away by how specific and useful it is. It is a perfect list of what not to do as a leader. Schmidt breaks down the leadership behaviors that create a terrible work environment—and I doubt any of them will come as a surprise. He groups them together into five categories: abusiveness, authoritarianism, narcissism, self-promotion and unpredictability.
You would think certain leadership no-nos would be obvious: that leaders should not belittle others publicly, or obviously suck up to senior management, or let their moods dictate how they respond. But based on the way many people feel about their bosses, I guess not.
I wish it were as simple as DBAJ (don’t be a jerk), and maybe it is. Maybe all you need to do at the end of every day is ask yourself “Is there anything I did or said today that I could have done better?” and “Is there anyone I need to apologize to or clean something up with?”
Just the fact that you are paying attention to your effectiveness and your own development as a leader is a good sign. When in doubt, remember to make it about the success of your people (not yourself), stay calm, facilitate clarity, and be kind.
Love, Madeleine
About Ask Madeleine
Ask Madeleine is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.
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