A friend recently shared a blog called ‘Motivation by Inspiration: Doreen Lorenzo on Empathetic Leadership; (read it here). I really appreciated this article because it addresses the misperception that a leader has to be cold and uncivil in their dealings.
In fact, Lorenzo goes further by stating that those high profile ‘bully-leaders’ that have celebrity status (like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk) are the exceptions, rather than the rule, and may actually have underachieved because of their bullying approaches.
Lorenzo refers to a number of recent research projects that have uncovered:
- In hospitals 71% of staff tied incivility to medical errors, and 27% to patient deaths
- Participants in one project were 30 – 60% worse in word puzzles and had 40 – 60% fewer ideas when subjected to incivility
- Toxic workplaces are less productive
In looking further into this idea of incivility in the workplace, the research found that the contributing factors include:
- 50% due to people being overloaded
- 40% had no time to be nice
- 25% say civil behaviour and being less leader-like
- 40% felt being civil was an invitation to be taken advantage of
The fix for such behaviours is to encourage leadership that motivates by inspiration. This includes listening to employees, where otherwise you will be missing 50% of the information you need to make a good decision. Also, involve employees in shaping the vision of the organisation, not just being told to implement it.
The blog finishes with a great analogy of leadership and dance. Lorenzo reminds leaders that “…in the end it’s not the choreographer that takes the stage – it’s the dancers.”
The Avondale Business School can help you and your team develop leadership skills – find out how by contacting Warrick Long at the Avondale Business School.
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