“If the spirit of the student is in you, the lessons will be there.” Sir William Osler
Phylogeny is the evolutionary, developmental history of a species. I propose that leaders experience phylogeny: we evolve over time. Not all of the evolution is adaptive.
I was reminded of my own phylogeny recently by a column in the Washington Post. It was a discussion on how employees should present new ideas to their bosses.
It was the boss part that really convicted me. The author depicted a group presenting their creative idea and “as soon as you get to the second slide, the boss immediately interrupts to explain why your ideas will not work or what you should have done instead, letting you know that he or she doesn’t understand the idea and definitely doesn’t think it will work” (Joyce E. A. Russell, Vice Dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.) Ouch.
As a young leader, I noticed that when my hospital’s CEO was being briefed she would glance at the number of slides in her copy of the handout a few minutes into the presentation and would seldom let the briefer get beyond the fourth or fifth slide without asking for the bottom line.
In an uneasy nod to my own leader phylogeny, I realized that a decade or two into my own leadership journey I had developed some of the same tendencies. I have developed the habit of interrupting during briefs, of saying “got-it,” of skipping ahead in the discussion, of using body language to communicate my disagreement (head swinging subtly “east-west” instead of “north-south” while they are speaking) of drumming my fingers on the table or arm of the chair, of pulling at the skin on my neck or my mustache (a risk inherent to having the “F” for “feeling” in my Myers Briggs temperament) of tapping impatiently with my ever-present yellow pencil.
The risk to the organization goes beyond the personal effect this behavior might have on my leadership effectiveness. These kinds of behaviors lead people to be less inclined to share their thoughts with me and with our leadership team. They stifle ideas that present opportunity for creativity, innovation and change in our organization that are not consistent with my already preconceived ideas of the direction I think we need to go.
The “we” is always more powerful than the “me.”
The necessary course correction starts with becoming aware and follows with an apology to my direct subordinates. It continues with accountability; making sure that a trusted agent on the team helps me to monitor and modify these behaviors.
Leader phylogeny is inevitable. But we will need to nudge it in the right direction now and then.
Chuck Callahan Henry V 4.3 – Lead from the Front https://henryv43.wordpress.com/
Henry V 4.3 