The Unmotivated Leader (It’s not them, IT’S ME!)

I had a great conversation yesterday with Herbert Cooper (herbertcooper.com), pastor of People’s Church (peopleschurch.tv).  During that conversation, he shared an important point regarding the failure of leaders to develop the leadership potential of others and the corresponding frustration by those same leaders when their staff members perform below expectation (due to a lack of training).  This post builds upon that concept.

The worst type of company is an organization where the leader(s) have become unmotivated.  Why?  Imagine a charter bus travelling from Ohio to Florida on I-75 at a speed of 65 mph.  As the bus approaches the state of Georgia, the driver decides he/she has had enough of the occupants in the bus and jumps out of the doors while the bus is still speeding down the highway!  The scenario is simple, if the driver (who gives guidance and sets the direction) leaves the bus, who is going to drive and what’s going to happen to the people?  Likewise, your organization is in “motion” traveling towards the internal goals which is the destination.  If the leader(s) are unmotivated because of their frustration with staff members and they lack the desire to “steer” the company, then the entire organization is in jeopardy of a major accident.

Why are leaders unmotivated?

Leaders typically become unmotivated from the stress caused when employees fail to perform according to their expectations.  The leaders will often use phrases such as:

“I don’t understand why they don’t get it! This isn’t that difficult!”
“I’ve been saying the same thing over and over but it’s not sinking in!”

At a certain point, the leader must understand that, “It’s not them, IT’S ME!”  There is a tendency by managers and executives to blame the problems of the organization on the ineffectiveness of their employees.  While it is true that employee ineffectiveness may be a factor in some cases, the problem in reality is much larger.  The leader must ask, “Why
are the employees ineffective?”  Staff ineffectiveness, as difficult as this may be for leaders to hear, is a direct result of a lack of development (training, guidance, clear expectations) by the leaders!  So, the issue doesn’t really reside with the employees, the issue revolves around the seriousness of the management team to intentionally create a system to train and develop the employees for the specific output they desire.

 “You can’t get angry at your staff for something you didn’t teach them.”

Here are three quick tips to reduce your frustration level and increase the effectiveness of your employees:

1)      Your employees are exactly how you trained them:  Zero inputs equal below zero outputs.  If your staff is causing you lots of stress, you need to examine your training procedures.  Does the training emphasize your desired outcome?  Is your training up-to-date/relevant or is it simply another phase of the new hire process.  Training is an important part to the continual development of your employees.  If you have time constraints or need assistance in this area, it is recommended that you bring in someone to
facilitate the training for your company.

2)      When you change, your employees will change:  This is an important intangible aspect of leadership.  Your attitude drives the attitude of the organization.  If you act visibly annoyed or frustrated each day, you will instruct (by way of culture) your employees to act the same.  You may not have the optimal employees but you can affect how you react to your employees.

3)      Your expectations should be clear:  How clear are your expectations?  As a test, ask someone to explain what your expectations are for a given task.  You will probably find that there is a difference in your perception and the reality of what they understood.  Be extremely clear on what you expect.

What did you think about this post?  Please leave your comments below.  For more information regarding leadership, staff development or customer service training, contact me here.