Our Leadership Monsters

The hands of change always seem to be upon us, at our back, pushing us and time forward.  Relentless and without reprieve.

Constant…

Even now, we can feel the change of seasons slowly overtaking us, the slight tinge of a chill in the evening breeze, what was once green begins to yellow and brown, leaves scatter across our yards and streets, even darkness has begun its gradual descent upon the daylight.

We can barely keep ourselves from stepping into October as Fall’s withered and worn hand ushers us into a new season.

A season when children struggle to contain their excitement over the coming of Halloween, a time filled with costumes, candy, pumpkins, trick-or-treating and even scary monsters.

As leaders, it is a season for us to consider the long shadow that we cast upon our organizations and those we lead.

A time to determine if our leadership is more trick…than treat.

So, as we move into this new season we want to be reflective of our leadership that it does not become too spooky and connect to those we lead in scary ways. We want to make sure that none of these monsters are rising from the tombs of our leadership…

• Dracula: The Dracula leaders are those that diminish, more than build up those they lead. Their leadership tends to use people up and wear them down, leaving them hollow and unfulfilled. They have a tendency to focus on their own needs and wants, often at the expense of others. They have a draining effect on the organization.

• Frankenstein: The Frankenstein leaders are those that ramble around the organization awkwardly. Constantly frazzled and frustrated. They struggle putting together any type of vision or strategy with clarity, much of what they do is in bits and pieces, and they tend to go from project or vision to another without any consistency or follow through. They tend to create confusion across the organization.

• Mummy: The Mummy leaders are those that work to insulate and close themselves off from those they lead. They wrap people around them that will keep issues and problems away from them and off their desk. They often close themselves and their leadership off from the rest of the organization. They tend to create feelings of disconnection within the organization.

• Ghost: The Ghost leaders are those that never seem to be around, especially during times of difficulty and crisis. Yet, they have this tendency to appear out of nowhere when accolades, awards or positive news is being presented. They tend to create frustration in those they lead and across the organization.

• Werewolf: The Werewolf leaders are those that you can never determine how they are going to be or act, they create and bring a certain sense of chaos to the organization. Their leadership is often reactive and unstable, which can be polarizing, as you never know which side of their personality you are going to get on any given day or issue. The tend to create instability within their organization.

As we move into this Autumn season filled with pumpkins, candy corn and cobwebs, it behooves us to determine what kind of shadow our leadership is casting across our organizations.

And which, if any, of these monsters may have gotten loose and find themselves trick-or-treating in the hallways and corridors of those very same organizations.

Advertisement