“Seat” of the Pants Leadership

Without question, one of the toughest leadership roles to step into is that of an outsider brought in to manage a tight-knit group of veteran employees. Maybe you’ve experienced this scenario in your career: you’re excited about the opportunity to head up a new team; but your new workers greet your arrival with sentiments ranging from apprehension to out-and-out anger.

Before you can lead effectively, you’ll need to overcome your new employees’ resistance and earn their trust. But where do you start?

I faced this challenge myself as a young manager in a Fortune 500 bank when I was charged with overseeing a staff of tenured clerical employees. Not only was I an outsider—I came from the IT department, of all places—but I also faced the daunting task of filling the shoes of a much-loved leader who’d retired after thirty years. Overcoming the employees’ consternation would have been tough for the most experienced manager, let alone a relative novice like me.

———————————————————–

Coming August 3-7, 2009

The Best of L2L Blogazine 2008-2009

———————————————————–

But as it happened, I stumbled onto a way to earn my new employees’ trust. Along with a buoyant enthusiasm for my new position, I brought with me something that would prove vital to my leadership success: my office chair. I didn’t think anyone would notice if I replaced my predecessor’s rickety old seat with the cushy chair from my prior office; after all, the IT department had moved 200 miles away to the company’s headquarters. It turns out that plenty of people noticed.

Almost immediately, my new employees began commenting on how nice my chair was. Only after the comments started did I become aware of the sad condition of their chairs. Many were ancient relics in various stages of ruin. Most had torn fabric or busted springs. One was so decrepit that it forced its occupant to teeter at an awkward 45-degree forward angle. It’s not surprising that workers were envious of my sweet chair. Unfortunately, the budget prevented buying anyone a new chair.

So, I concocted a plan.

Being an early riser, I was always among the first to arrive at work each day. One morning, with the office still to myself, I wheeled the 45-degree-leaning butt trap onto the elevator and up to the deserted IT department. I pushed the clunker into an empty office and swapped it for a high-back chair with lumbar support and padded arms. I wasted no time getting back with this treasure, and I left it as a surprise for its new possessor.

The gift was such a hit that I continued this morning ritual until, one-by-one, I ensured that every one of my new employees had a comfortable chair. (The IT furniture was eventually moved to the home office; to this day, I wonder how they liked the dilapidated chairs :O)

By improving the seating conditions of my new staff, I demonstrated something no one had shown them recently: concern for their wellbeing. As a result, they stopped fearing the changes I might bring to their department and started looking forward to them, instead.

This experience taught me two valuable leadership lessons.

First, if you’re an outsider brought in to lead an established team, you’ll undoubtedly need to implement changes. A surefire way to get employees to trust your changes is to change the bad stuff first. Second, although leadership presents constant challenges, the solutions are often right under our noses. In fact, sometimes we practically sit in them.

————————————————————————————–
George Brymer is author of Vital Integrities and the creator of The Leading from the Heart Workshop®.
He can be reached at [email protected]

Image Source: rogards.com