In our mission as executive leadership coaches, VIM Executive Coaching encounters many leaders with a wide range of leadership styles. One of the more curious – and troubling styles is the leader who assumes the attitude of “My Department, My Rules,” or “My Organization, My Guidelines.”
Executive leaders who adopt this attitude generally ask us for “coaching advice,” after receiving negative reviews or experience negative organizational trends e.g. high turnover, poor online reviews, industry ostracism or even difficulty getting interviews when they, themselves look for new positions.
“Yes, but I Got Results!”
The most common defense for those who had adopted and embraced what we will call the “The Closed-Door Policy,” is that they possess an unshakable self-assurance that their approach got results. We suppose intimidation always gets some sort of results. We admit, that at times, pressure based on executive reaction will get results, but only within a certain context e.g. the military, a time-sensitive construction project or a game seven of the World Series!
However, as organizations and workforces have changed, the same methodologies that may have worked in the workplace with regularity 50, 60 or more years ago, have become increasingly ineffective. When an executive leader becomes intractable, when she or he become so closed to change, cooperation, fresh approaches or new technologies, the loss can negatively reverberate throughout the organization.
Many organizations are now interconnected not only from floor to floor in a high-rise, but remotely, internationally and often, virtually. The employee workforce may be salaried, commission-based, contract or freelance. Therefore, cooperation and coordination, response to situations, consideration of “work culture,” language and motivation has replaced close-minded reaction.
Work-style, certainly influenced by the internet has been radically changed over recent decades. It is not only access to information, but minute-to-minute response to market challenges has changed as well.
For the executive leader to be close-minded to change, to be closed to opinions, technology, new efficiencies or technologies can be catastrophic. Perhaps results were achieved by being closed to anything the executive construed as “a challenge” to authority but the approach is consistently being proven to be ineffective.
What is Lost by Authenticity?
Executive leaders who come to VIM Executive Coaching are sometimes so closed to change, to becoming more responsive and real as executives, that they resist even the slightest notion that they could benefit from altering their style. It is as though the removal of the reaction mask will allow others to perceive them as weak.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“Weakness” is not the result of becoming more mindful, open and responsive, authenticity is the outcome.
There is nothing weak about guiding, listening and responding. Authentic executive leaders are real and more compassionate. Compassion is not weak either; a lack of compassion is perceived as being far weaker.
Being mindful and authentic, a more uncluttered approach, gets results. It is opening previously closed doors on many levels. The “C-level” executive who is authentic can still assert authority, but it becomes an assertion based on genuine response not anger or closed-mindedness. In short, being more open rather than closed works in today’s organization.