To be or not to be, that is the
question – William
Shakespeare
For many he
is an urban legend, for others he is a great hoax. Regardless of your beliefs,
Bigfoot enthusiasts have been on the hunt for a long time. In the interest of
full disclosure I will confess I’ve become addicted to the Animal Planet show Finding Bigfoot. I will also confess
that while I find the show entertaining I remain a skeptic. However, I would
welcome an invitation from Bobo and the gang to go ‘Squatchin’.
After
watching many episodes of Finding Bigfoot
it didn’t take long to connect the dots and draw parallels between the
characteristics of Bigfoot out in the wild and some leaders in their offices.
Just as some people swear that Bigfoot exists, many people in their
organizations make the same claim about their leader - always lurking in the
shadows somewhere ,but, can we really be sure?
In Inc.
magazine earlier this year, Dino Signore (http://ow.ly/CtgU0 ) wrote about the importance and the
challenges leaders face in building relationships and being connected to their
people. Clearly, if you want to engage your employees it will take hard work
effort on your part.
Signore cites
Gallup’s “State of the American Workplace” survey in which seventy percent of
American workers say they are disengaged. What does that mean for you as a
leader? In short, it means that you are going to have to come out from the
shadows and step up your leadership game. Do you have the leadership
characteristics of Bigfoot? Let’s find out.
Your people make wild claims about your
leadership, but they have little evidence
In order to
be a leader that is connected, engaged, and involved in what’s going on you have
to be seen. Your people will gain confidence in you as a leader when you lead
from the front, not when you are lurking in the shadows. If your credentials as
a leader are based upon rumors and sightings then you have lost their trust. If
in the eyes of your people you are a fictional character then you are nothing
more than a fictional leader.
Your people are perpetually one step
behind you, where are you?
In Finding Bigfoot the dedicated team
always seems to be one step behind their prey. Here’s the rub - people willingly
follow a strong and confident leader. But when your people are reduced to
chasing after you and are always one step behind you then frustration builds. When
that happens morale begins sink and the Gallup poll on engagement becomes all
too real. Your people want a leader who is with them-not evasive, and one they
can trust with their own eyes. If you are disengaged as a leader your people
will eventually dismiss you as a hoax.
Your people risk a lot to believe in
you, have you let them down?
One of the
regular features of Finding Bigfoot is
a town hall meeting to hear the claims of people who say they’ve had a Bigfoot
encounter. It’s up to the team to investigate and separate fact from fiction,
or something like that. Be it the investigative team or the people making the
claim, they put their reputations on the line by expressing a belief in what
many claim to be a fraud. Likewise, your people risk a lot by believing in you
as a leader. It’s one thing to believe in your people- that’s important, but
you must respect them enough by giving them a reason to buy-in to your
leadership and believe in you. Having the respect and trust of your people is a
sacred honor, don’t let them down.
Dispelling the Bigfoot leadership
myth
“A leader is
one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way,” says John
Maxwell. Going forward and solidifying your
leadership credentials will happen when you take corporate culture seriously,
build relationships with your people, and make trust the focal point of your
leadership. Your leadership does not have to be subjected to the status of an
urban myth or legend. It’s time to come out from the shadows and lead with
purpose.
What do you
say?
© 2014 Doug
Dickerson
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