The Failure of Leadership
Over the years, I’ve read a few articles by Jeffrey Pfeffer and his book, Leadership BS, focused on the failure of leadership. I was particularly fascinated by the book and the notion that while we spend millions per year on leadership training, yet leaders are no more effective.
The evidence of the failure is that employees are less engaged than ever, and direct managers are the primary influencer of employee engagement. If we are spending more money on sending managers to leadership training, engagement should be going in the other direction.
From the author’s perspective, the primary reason is that leadership training is not realistic. In particular, he calls out authenticity as an ineffective ideal that should not be pursued, but which is highlighted in all leadership training.
To be a successful leader, he poses that we need to be actors, becoming whatever is needed in a given environment or circumstance.
Since living and leading authentically is the premise behind all that I do, I thought I’d share my thoughts on Jeffrey’s concepts and how leaders can be authentic AND adjust to the situation at hand. I’d also like to share the risks of following his advice, and my own ideas on why leadership training may be failing.
Assumptions of Leadership Training
You can send someone to training. It doesn’t mean they will actually implement what was taught. Even if they go through the motions, if they don’t believe it, employees know.
Authentic change takes commitment, time and practice. If I do to training today, I will not be different tomorrow.
I must commit to the change, practice affecting the change, and eventually it will become part of how I operate. I will integrate this new skill as part of myself. And others will see it as an authentic part of me.
This does not happen overnight.
Meaningful change that sticks
If I am attempting to introduce a change that is very different from my prior methods, there are several steps I have to take. These each take time.
To affect meaningful change, we need to break prior habits. Others will not be quick to trust the change. They may have long experience with the old me and need to experience it for a period of time before they believe it.
I worked with an executive coach and turned myself inside out to determine what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to change. I’d learn something, try it out, see what worked and what didn’t, and adapt as needed.
I spent over a year with a team I had managed for years, implementing various changes. Ultimately, my team didn’t see me much differently, but new people I’d meet did.
It wasn’t until I changed teams that I had a very different experience. It took interacting with folks that didn’t have years of preconceived notions before I was able to determine that my attempts at change were truly effective.
Managers have a role to play
We can send managers to as much training as we’d like. What support do they have when they return? If they attempt change, and don’t see immediate results – because it takes time for others to believe it – do they stick with it?
Training investment is not enough. Even before sending someone to training, there are several questions a manager may pose to him or herself:
- What outcome is expected?
- What follow-on support is available?
- Am I prepared to help him/her through identified changes, including changing my own behavior?
Training is not a silver bullet. Information only becomes knowledge through application. Maybe this is why coaching is on the rise. Coaches not only suggest tools or resources like training, but assist with the follow-on steps of putting those tools and resources into practice.
Do you think leadership training is worth the investment? Are there other considerations or techniques you’ve used to make training worthwhile and help you improve? I would love if you’d share your feedback in the comments.
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