Regarding following an ineffective leader. . .
"Your job isn't to fix the leader; it's to add value.
If the leader won't change, then change your
attitude or your work address."
"No matter what our circumstances, our greatest
limitation isn't the leader above us--
it's the spirit within us."
"Your leadership is as much disposition as position."
-- John C Maxwell, from The 360 Degree Leader
I've had several opportunities to be in the position of following an ineffective leader. In those positions, I used to complain every day, usually to my wife or some other poor unfortunate soul. I didn't mince words either. How could the owner have hired such idiots in the first place? They were so inept and lame. It's not that they were bad people, they were just bad at their jobs.
Of course, I was not in that league. I was good at my job. In fact, I knew their job better than they did and could probably do my job and theirs and have time left over--you know, me being perfect and all. . .
The more I complained, the more there was to complain about. Ever heard of the Law of Attraction? Duh! Was I trying to make myself feel better? Yes. Was it working? No. Was I helping my situation at all by this complaining? No. Was I hurting myself by this activity? Yes. Another self-inflicted wound!
Does this sound familiar to anyone else?
Recently, I've been reading and studying The 360 Degree Leader by John C Maxwell. It's a wonderful book about leadership and in particular leading from the middle of an organization. I absolutely love the first quote above: It's not my job to fix the leader--it's my job to ADD VALUE, then it goes on to say, if the leader won't change (and you know they aren't going to. . .), you have two choices: One, develop a new attitude, or a new way of looking at things, or two, get a different job.
Now, if I like my job, what I do and where I do it, I have only one choice: choose better thoughts, learn to appreciate my boss more, maybe get to know them more, seek their strengths and accentuate them--in other words, stop complaining and start praising.
You know what happens then? They seem to change almost overnight. They all of a sudden have skills you didn't know they had, hobbies that are fascinating, they have knowledge you were unaware of, and a previously hidden but pleasant personality. What an amazing transformation! It's a miracle! Who knew that people could change that quickly?
It's an amazing thing. . .
Some Of The People I Have Come To Respect Highly Have Been Previous Bosses I Used To Complain About. . . Many After I Left. Better Late Than Never.
Spread Some Joy Today--Ever hear complaints about bosses come from your lips? How about other workers? Perhaps we all need to recheck our perfectness. . . It can only be from our own perfection that we see the flaws correctly. . .
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