Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2013. The phrase “in a situation like the current one” refers to the economic crisis of 2013.
When a company hires a leader to head a project and its team, that leader may come to think they have certain rights as a boss, as CEO, as a leader and so on. Some business owners even believe they are entitled to a certain treatment from their workers: “I’m the boss, the owner, the CEO, and I don’t have to do anything to earn certain rights I can demand from my employees. I simply deserve them.”
Mark Sanborn, president of Sanborn & Associates, sets out in an article five traps in a leader’s beliefs that must be avoided at all costs, because rights aren’t deserved just because. They are earned. (Read: 6 things at work that motivate no one.)
1. They want to be respected without showing respect.
When we discussed the differences between a leader and a manager, we made it very clear that a manager has subordinates, while a leader has followers. Respect is one of those things not even money can buy. With money you can buy people’s fake friendliness towards you. With your status in the company you can buy fear, but respect has to be earned, because it’s a personal matter of character and ability.
In fact, many people may recognise your achievements without that meaning you deserve their respect, especially if you haven’t been a respectful leader.
2. The need for flattery.
If your ego needs constant flattery, over time you’ll face too many problems in business, even losing respect and recognition. People who constantly need medals are rarely trustworthy, because they tend to take the credit for collective merit and make it their own.
3. Demanding sacrifices.
Especially in a situation like the current one, many leaders feel entitled to demand sacrifices from others. Rational people will be willing to make sacrifices for the company for various reasons. However, everyone who makes a sacrifice wants that effort to be properly recognised.
Mark Sanborn tells the story of a manufacturing company that faced a business crisis and asked its workers for sacrifices in pay, benefits and working hours. The employees agreed to accept the situation. Thanks to those sacrifices and efforts, the company returned to profitability, with considerably higher revenue and profits, but it never rewarded the employees for their past sacrifices.
The employees felt betrayed and their morale sank. Life takes many turns, so if one day that company went through the same situation again and needed another effort from its workers, they would be fully entitled to say: “make the sacrifice your own d*** self“.
4. Trust.
Business relationships are only possible because they rest on one fundamental pillar: trust. Trust with your suppliers; customers buy from you because they trust you, and so on. Lose trust as a company and your business is dead. If you don’t earn your team’s trust, you’ll never be a leader. A famous management guru, Tom Peters, was asked: “How can I earn my team’s trust?” Peters simply said: “You must be trustworthy. There is no other way or strategy.”
5. Believing your employees are your friends.
A manager can tell a bad joke and everyone will laugh. If he asks who can go with him to take his car to the garage, everyone will volunteer. But employees are not your friends, even if they act like it. In fact, don’t expect friendship simply because they work with you. Friendship has to be earned too.
Further reading
- 10 ways you may be making your employees less productive as a manager
- Business and leadership lessons from Jack Welch, the top executive of the 20th century
Featured image: Marjory Collins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
