One day you’re in; the next day, you’re out.” ~Heidi Klum
Fans of the hit television series Project Runway will undoubtedly recognize the tagline above. Host, supermodel, and style expert Heidi Klum recites the phrase at the beginning of each episode as a warning to would-be designers that, in fashion, success can be fleeting. The maxim applies equally to leadership—just ask Rick Wagoner, Eric Wedge, and Stephanie Streeter, former heads of GM, the Cleveland Indians, and the U.S. Olympic Committee, respectively. But this post is not about being ousted; it’s about our tendency to treat some people as outsiders.
Leadership theories have long revolved around the notion that leaders maintain certain styles and, always true to form, treat all of their followers the same. That assumption was challenged by the introduction of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory. LMX theory suggests that leaders treat some constituents differently than others. Furthermore, in their dyadic relationships with followers, leaders have a propensity to separate people into in-groups or out-groups.
Here’s how LMX theory works. When employees behave in ways appealing to a leader, they become members of the boss’s in-group. Appealing behavior might include doing work that goes above and beyond what a job description mandates, or simply exhibiting a personality that meshes well with that of the leader. As a result, in-group members get the best assignments, more responsibility, and greater opportunities to succeed.
Some might call this favoritism.
On the other hand, out-group members are perceived by the leader as unwilling to go the extra mile—or as not having a personality compatible with the leader. Because leaders broadcast their feelings through their body language, people in out-groups can’t help knowing where they stand. Therefore, like their leaders who interact with them as little as possible, out-group members contribute just enough to get by.
What makes this unconscious distinction especially troublesome is the Heidi Klum factor: one day you might be part of your supervisor’s in-group, and the next day you’re not.
I remember finding myself in a boss’s out-group for having the audacity to question one of his decisions. I went from being liked to being shunned overnight. It wasn’t until I resolved a technical problem that had stumped his in-group members for months that I was welcomed back into his inner circle.
While it might seem appropriate that those who contribute more should be treated better than those who contribute little, newer research on LMX theory shows that leaders are more effective when they make everyone feel a part of the in-group. In other words, we need to develop positive relationships with all of our followers. We need to create opportunities for all of our employees to accept greater responsibilities—and then nurture them to success. By establishing respectful relationships with every employee, we can turn our entire team into an in-group.
Do you find yourself categorizing your employees? Are you giving some subordinates special attention at the expense of others? Are you providing everyone a fair chance to contribute and succeed? If not, you might be in as a leader today, and out tomorrow.
Auf Wiedersehen!
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George Brymer is author of Vital Integrities and the creator of The Leading from the Heart Workshop®.
He can be reached [email protected]
Image Sources: nypost.com
I think anyone claiming that he or she doe not categorize his or her employees is most likely to be lying. Any leader, whether consciously or not, categorizes employees into groups.
Talking from my experience, here’s how an employee can get to my inner circle (which can only have a few members):
– Willing to do whatever I ask him/her for.
– Willing to do the work that other people won’t do, or other people do poorly
– Willing to take the initiative in doing more than asked for
– Having a great attitude
– Never challenging my authority nor decisions (this is very important). The person is automatically out the “inner circle” once this happens.
PS: I have just published a relevant article on inspiring the team, hope you’ll get the chance to take a look.
Hmm, I have to ask about the last requirement to get/stay in your in-group. “Never challenging my authority nor decisions…” Seems to me you might be discouraging some important feedback and insight. Aren’t we as leaders supposed to encourage employees to “challenge the process” as Kouzes and Posner put it in The Leadership Challenge?
The fact of the matter is, most managers don’t want to have arguments with their team members. Feedback and insight are different, but can you get the work done if you allow your team members to challenge every decision you make?
Of course, a team member might “offer” an idea, that you can think or throw, but another one might try to enforce his idea, thus hindering the progress of the project.
Then again, everyone has his or her own management style.
Very good points, indeed! I have found that there are very things more disastrous to a leader’s ability influence than permanently closing the “leadership suggestion box” for the sake of efficiency. This tends to be so off-putting to contributors that they end up leaving and taking their good ideas somewhere else. This is one of the key differences between a manager and a leader.
That being said, it takes a lot of patience, humility, empathy, brain power, time, and communication skills to keep the suggestion box open. It is hard work that oftentimes does not pay off in obvious ways.
I think it comes down to whether or not the leader has the wherewithal and personal strength to look for good ideas in a pile of bad ones. It also takes an optimistic point of view to assist them through the druggery of that sort of ongoing task of being challenged and questioned.
Great feedback, Gents! thanks for the dialog. ~Tom