Usable Insight – Firing as a Failure of Leadership
If you “Just Listen” to leaders you’ll discover that the better ones view firing people as a failure of their leadership by: a) not having hired the right person in the first place and if they have, b) not providing them with skills training or capacity (time and other resources necessary) to succeed in their position…
And you’ll discover that the poorer leaders look for someone else to blame.
This scenario all too frequently occurs when entrepreneurs or founders of startups have a vision of their company — or at least the opportunity it is set up to exploit — and intuitively know all the requisite functions necessary to turn their vision into a reality. Then they hit “speed bumps” when they realize they have to work through people who don’t perform those functions the way the founder intuitively imagines they should. That is when the micromanaging begins and rather than becoming clearer, the founder instead rides his/her people harder causing lowered productivity and performance.
To resolve this it is important for the end goal and objectives to support that goal be clearly articulated. Next the tasks to achieve those objectives and skills to accomplish those tasks need to be clearly articulated. Then a means to learn and master those skills need to be provided. Finally after those skills are mastered, the company has to have a structure where people have the capacity (ample time and other resources) to employ those skills to accomplish those tasks to meet those objectives that achieve those goals.
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Marshall Goldsmith and Patricia Wheeler invite you to a Thought Leader Teleforum
on Wednesday September 30th at 1 PM Eastern time.
Please join us in a Thought Leader TeleForum for a discussion focused on “Just Listen: The Secret Weapon to Getting Through to Absolutely Everyone featuring Mark Goulston, moderated by Executive Coach Patricia Wheeler.
The first make-or-break step in persuading anyone to do anything is getting them to hear you out. Whether the person is a harried colleague, a stressed-out client, or an insecure spouse — things can only go from bad to worse if you are unable to break through emotional barricades. During this TeleForum, Mark Goulston will explore a number of powerful yet simple, easy-to-apply techniques to reach through these barriers and have your message be heard and understood.
Using the powerful techniques learned in this session, you’ll be able to turn the “impossible” and “unreachable” people in your life into allies, devoted customers and lifelong friends.
Mark Goulston, M.D., is an executive coach, team building consultant trained as a clinical, psychiatrist. He has been a UCLA professor of psychiatry for more than 25 years, trained FBI and police hostage negotiators and worked with or spoken to companies, universities and organizations around the world. He is the best selling author of four books including his latest, “Just Listen”. In addition he writes the Tribune Media syndicated career advice column, “Solve Anything with Dr. Mark,” blogs for Fast Company and the Huffington Post and is a contributor to Harvard Business online.
During this 60-minute conference call we will be discussing the three points below plus fielding your specific questions:
- Effectively getting through to difficult people…without the fear of making the situation worse
- Skills to help you easily confront current situations that you may be avoiding
- How to win increased respect from others and confidence in yourself for dealing with difficult situations head on
There is no charge for this TeleForum, which will be held at 10 AM Pacific/1 PM Eastern time on Wednesday September 30th. Please click here to register. If this link does not work in your browser, you may cut and paste the following URL: www.LeadingNews.org/signupgc.htm.
To adjust for international time zones, you can visit World Time Converter.
If you have further questions, please contact Lori Glover at 858 382-4687.
We look forward to your participation!
Patricia and Marshall
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Thanks to my supportive subscribers for their support in helping my new book, “Just Listen” reach #1 in four business categories at amazon.com in its first week of publication.
Other chances to catch Mark:
September 30, 4:30-5:30 PM PDT – free guest teleclass at: “Just Listen: The secret weapon to succeeding as an entrepreneurial MD” hosted by The Entrepreneurial MD
October 7, 5:30-8:30 PM PDT – “Cracking the Communication Code” – Professional Coaches and Mentors Association, Santa Monica
Press Release: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone
Tags: just listen, leaders, leadership, mark goulston, marshall goldsmith
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September 26th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
I don’t view the discharge of an employee as a failure. If an employee is not successful, but does nothing to change, thenm as a leader you are doing all parties a favor by releasing that employee so that he or she may find the spot where their success will be achieved.
September 26th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
That’s a valid point Gary. You are right that if an employee is given the chance to succeed, but does nothing on their part to do so, that is not a failure of leadership. However, there are ways to vet unmotivated people before you hire them through your interview process, checking references, etc. It is not easy to do so, but it is possible and it can save you lots of headaches and worse down the road.
September 27th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Now that is something I never knew. Blogs like this really add to our understanding.
September 27th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
You hit on some great points Mark. Just as you did in your interview on Making a Living on SIRIUS 112 last week! Thx for joining me for some career talk.
I best have heard this described as a difference between being an individual contributor (and feeling the need to micromanage how everyone does everything) and contributing through others (seeing that your success is only amplified when you engage others in the process.)
The leaders I have coached often so much pressure to succeed that they fall into individual contributor mode. The employees I’ve coached working 4 this kind of leader feel squelched and under valued. It is a cycle that can best be broken from the top.
It takes courage to contribute through others but the payoff is way beyond what you could ever micromanage you way into!
September 27th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Goulston, M.D. and MaggieMistal. MaggieMistal said: RT Do you agree with this? Firing as a Failure of Leadership http://bit.ly/Co8LE (via @MarkGoulston) [...]
September 27th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Thank you Maggie. I love your distinction between being an individual contributor which I’ve heard called being “all about me” and contributing through others which I’ve heard called being “all about we.” And you are so right about how the employees feel under the different leaders. So often I see great companies with brilliant founders attract terrific people, but the set those people up to fail instead of succeed. What a tragic waste of talent and potential for companies to succeed.
It was a pleasure appearing on Making a Living on SIRIUS 112. Hosts like you make it easy for guests like me to shine.
September 27th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
While I fundamentally agree with you, especially the point about leaders taking responsiblity for their own actions, it’s also important to point out that sometimes an employee just is not the right fit for the job. It’s simply not possible for a leader to inspire every single individual in their company. A good leader needs to take into consideration not only the goals of the company, but they also need to be able to realistically assess their employees and be able to either work harder to make sure they are communicating their leadership clearly, providing the necessary training and education to their staff, and to focus on and prioritize the creation of a cohesive team. As a former international company owner, I found it scarier to hire than fire. Usually by the time you have to take the extreme measure of firing someone, if you’ve done your job right, you’ve done your best to communicate your company’s goals to the employee, and they have also figured out they aren’t the best fit with your organization. The few situations in which I had to let someone go, there were no surprises.
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