“People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses.”
This saying is more to the point than ever, fueled by the Great Resignation and the burning question of self-management.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have primarily excellent bosses through the years. But I’ve also had a few who made me feel worthless. They took a toll on my physical and mental health.
As I reflected on these negative experiences, I realized that these weak bosses had undeniable domain expertise in specific areas that was the trigger to their promotion. But eventually, they ended up reaching their level of incompetence.
Sadly, this is the reality of many corporations. As long as you’re a top performer, the company will promote you to a higher-level job until you feel so challenged that it won’t anymore.
You got promoted to your level of incompetence!
It’s the well-known “Peter principle,” developed by Dr. Lawrence Peter.
Now, let me be brutally honest.
I, too, suffered from this syndrome and found myself very challenged in my first real team management role.
I had a few significant assets in my favor: very truthful, charismatic, and good at sharing my passion. But at first, I was also clueless about effectively delegating, coaching, and keeping my team’s trust.
It was a disaster in the making.
I now wish I had found a mentor to help me through these issues. But back in the nineties, it wasn’t as prevalent as today.
So, I proactively looked into resources that could help me. Taking a bunch of tests, reading a lot, and eventually narrowing my focus on two of my most significant weaknesses:
- I became a more active listener, learning to understand better what my team members were saying and what their body language meant. With mindful listening and through open-ended questions, I invited them to elaborate further on their issues and started to read their minds better.
- I systematically focused on root causes and established an environment where failure was ok. We spent time analyzing why we faced specific challenges and learned from them. I implemented the 5 WHYs approach and enriched it with a series of more profound questions for further context.
Things improved, and soon another promotion was in order.
But, most importantly, I realized that the real game for me was not to keep being promoted till I failed. As a boss, I understood that my mission was to turn every single team member into a true leader, no matter what their role was. We’d all benefit from this.
Interestingly enough, the current Great Resignation crisis highlights the need for pervasive leadership and the self-management that comes with it
We, as knowledge workers, can “self-manage” ourselves. We’re done with incompetent managers. Flatter organizations with fewer layers are welcome.
And when we have a boss, we expect her to help us blossom to do extraordinary things. We want our boss to help us turn into great leaders.
The time for self-management has come. Organizations that embrace these leadership principles will keep attracting the best talent like magnets and see their success grow.