Selecting Leaders

I get a lot of mails and enquiries regarding a few recurring but interesting questions:
“How do I get one of my teams to respect the team leader?”
“We have a team that is in conflict with the leader. How do we force the team to stop it?”
“One of our leaders is facing heavy resistance from his team. What can we do?”
“A department in our company works well together only when their manager is not around. What can we do?”
“Which teambuilding course should I send one of my teams together with their leader so that they can cooperate better?”
“What can I do to team members who talks disrespectfully about their leader?”


Before I go forward, let me get a few things straight:
The problem lies with the leader, not the team. Therefore, sending the entire team to a teambuilding course will worsen the situation.
Respect must be earned by the leader. Management cannot force the team to respect the leader.
The team has a choice to respect or not respect the leader. It is their right. However, as long as the leader is around, they have to listen to instructions from the leader, otherwise it is insubordination.

OK…with that out of the way, let’s start looking at the questions above. What strikes you as a common theme? You are right – Selecting the Wrong Leader. There is another related theme though – Selecting a Right Leader who is Not Yet Ready. These main theme – Selecting Leaders, appears to be the major root cause for a lot of organizational and team problems.

Selecting the wrong leader can cause the following (among other things) in the team:
Demotivation
Anger and Frustration
Conflict
Silent rebellion
Confusion
Constant gossiping and bickering

So… the RM1,294,856 question is… “How do I select leaders?”. To tell you the truth, if I had the answer, I would be filthy rich by now, in a yacht in the Carribean sea, enjoying my freshly squeezed orange juice, and not bothering to write anymore blogs.

But, I do have some clues. At the heart of selecting potential leaders, lies three basic criteria that MUST NEVER be compromised:
1) Track Record – has historically performed well consistently, managed to get things done regardless of the odds or lack of resources, and have been willing to roll up their sleeves for dirty work
2) Relationship Building – managed to influence peers without formal authority, able to gain respect based on character, can get people to like them
3) Emotional Control – I don’t need to clarify this one.


My advice is this – if a potential leader does not qualify ALL THREE of the above, it is better not to make that a person a leader yet. However, all three can be developed.

If you decide to do otherwise, I can guarantee all hell will break loose. You will keep the leader but lose your members (either physically or mentally).

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

-TURD-