Why Good Employees Don’t Always Make Great Supervisors
By
Bill Cottringer
This is probably also true for good students, athletes and even children becoming good teachers, coaches and parents themselves. Why is this? Consider the following reasons:
· First, these two “jobs” require much different mind-sets of knowledge, skills and characteristics that have to be learned and practiced successfully. Unfortunately many good employees, students, athletes and children don’t have the desire to make the needed sacrifices and effort to become good leaders as a supervisor, teacher, coach or parent. That is reality.
· Secondly, all effective leadership begins with discipline in self-management and not everyone has the required drive towards growth, learning and improving. Some people will always be happy with where they are at not, and those who are not happy with where they are at, are missing something to get them there.
· Finally, both sides of the equation are full time jobs in themselves, and so moving from one to the other requires both the motivation and the mind-sets to have already been established and be enhanced with excellent time management skills to apply the required skills for the desired results.
Here is the mind-set all the best leaders possess for their challenges (the Ten C’s):
· Character—Solid moral and ethical character that inspires others to do better and resolve painful conflicts and adversity. Leading by example, which always out-speaks words.
· Credibility—A success record of knowing and doing the right things in the right way, right time and for the right reason, that attracts others as devoted followers.
· Competence—The above abilities and successes that build credibility.
· Connectivity—Knowing the right people and valuing and respecting others; being able to relate and communicate well with others by being likeable (positive, trustworthy, accepting, equal, empathetic, spontaneous, humorous and agreeable).
· Conviction—Being balanced with temperance in most things, but knowing when to draw the line in the sand and when to fish or cut bait before the point of no return comes and goes.
· Concern—For helping others become the best they can be to make the world a better place, by resolving conflicts, encouraging growth, and making continuous improvement,
· Caring—Really having a genuine nurturing attitude in helping people with empathy and concern.
· Cause—Belief in a higher power, unique purpose, and greater good to give hope and buy-in for others to keep wanting to progress to a better place.
· Commitment--Tenacious, unwavering drive to succeed and achieve what others don’t see or see before others do. A belief that quitting or losing are is not options.
· Courage—To be willing to stand alone with convictions and go into the unknown or on the road less traveled, without a map.
Of course there is one important non C-word addition which is often referred to as the missing X-factor, or “luck.” But the truth be known, luck is just another word for good timing. When the right time comes, good leaders are ready to have their skills ready to meet opportunity, with good timing.
This is a good place to identify the four main requisites of acquiring the needed mind-set of knowledge, skills and characteristics to become a great leader, coach, teacher or parent:
· Energy. The bus doesn’t move without the driver having strong, positive energy to move the bus in the desired direction. Great leaders need a virtually unlimited amount of energy to do all the things they need to do to lead well. Fortunately energy is reciprocal and contagious in reinforcing itself.
· Open-mindedness. The best leaders are able to keep their minds open to be able to admit that there is always much more to know than they think they already know. Equally important, they know they are not always correct and others have valid perspectives about situations, even when they oppose their own.
· Humility. Good leaders must exercise humility at many different levels. This includes being able to be self-critical and not take yourself or your position too seriously; adopting a more effective giving/serving position rather than a taking one; willingness to admit and share mistakes and failures; understanding the team can do more than any individual member, including the leader, and sharing responsibility for failures and victories.
· Patience. The last prerequisite is what allows these other three to develop, along with the necessary mind-set. The best leaders seem to know when to exercise extreme patience versus knowing when the energy could be used more productively for something else. Extreme patience is usually needed for making the connections, learning how to communicate and getting others to the right place to help the team best. Impatience may be best served in becoming more sensitive to catching the point of no return in something before it comes and goes.
If you are already an effective leader you will likely agree with all the above considerations and may even have some novel contributions of your own to add here. If you are a newly aspiring leader, coach, teacher or parent, consider doing a self-assessment of these prerequisites and a reality check on your own drive to acquire the mind-set to become a great leader. And if you are happy where you are at, that is fine too. Both “jobs” will always be available.
William Cottringer, Ph.D. is Executive Vice President of Puget Sound Security in Bellevue, WA, along with being a Sport Psychologist, Business Success Coach, Photographer and Writer living on the scenic Snoqualmie River and mountains of North Bend. He is author of several business and self-development books, including, Re-Braining for 2000 (MJR Publishing); The Prosperity Zone (Authorlink Press); You Can Have Your Cheese & Eat It Too (Executive Excellence); The Bow-Wow Secrets (Wisdom Tree); Do What Matters Most and “P” Point Management (Atlantic Book Publishers); Reality Repair, (Global Vision Press), Reality Repair Rx (Publish America); Thoughts on Happiness; Pearls of Wisdom: A Dog’s Tale (Covenant Books, Inc.) Bill can be reached for comments or questions at (425) 652-8067 or ckuretdoc.comcast.net.
I once wrote articles on how to miscommunicate and how to be a bad supervisor using the reverses of these 5 and 10 "C's" to be humorous.
Thanks for you continued support.
Bill C.
You didn't state whether or not the 10 Cs was your creativity are not. If it was, I give you kudos for innovation. I have found that during my early career, my supervisors, mentors and leaders at those qualities. During the second half of my career I increasingly was supervised by people who were greatly lacking in some of the Cs.
Ron