Absent

It is valuable for leaders to understand the variables that influence successful outcomes from workers. The literature suggests a focus on the following six factors as a means to achieve superior results¹:

Employee Satisfaction: Satisfied workers are more motivated and can lead to satisfied customers.

Productivity: Increases in the efficiency and effectiveness of employees is essential to the business.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior:  The willingness of employees to exceed the minimal requirements of a job is necessary; this may include helping a co-worker.

Absence:  Decreasing work absences is important. Everyone is tempted from time to time to take a mental health day. However, a leader needs workers to willingly engage in the job.

Turnover:  Decreasing workers’ intention and action of voluntarily leaving the organization increases efficiencies; hiring and training new workers is expensive.

Deviant Work Behavior: Decreasing behaviors that are negative and can cause problems is a must. Unacceptable behaviors such as work slow-downs, stealing supplies, etc., need to be avoided and/or stopped.

The leader hopes to influence the direction of these variables by deliberately calibrating his/her behaviors and actions. One can write at length on each variable, and in future blogs I will address some of the things that leaders can concentrate on improving. 

This blog will describe one issue that may signal how a leader is generally doing with followers. It is easy to measure business outcomes but not always simple to recognize if a leader is on the right track. One way to gauge a leader’s effectiveness is by how workers change or alter their behaviors when the leader is not present. Some important questions to ask:

• If a leader leaves a room, does the behavior of the followers left in the room measurably change? For example, are there sighs of relief or a visible sense of relaxation?

• Do the followers mock or make fun of the leader when not present? There is a natural inclination to joke about the person in charge, but if the jokes are such that they would never want to be shared with the leader, then it is possible something negative is happening.

• Does the office look more like a party if the leader is out for an afternoon?

• If the leader takes a day off, do people tend to leave early or not follow the rules? For example, are lunch hours extended or does the workday end earlier (e.g. leave at the close of business instead of working an extra few hours)?
  
•  Does the office seem to function better when the leader is away? This suggests he or she is more disruptive than helpful.

Leading others is a tough job and many are not up to it. The job of a leader is exclusively devoted to achieving organizational outcomes, but this is not a one-time event. Outcomes must be sustained and, in order to maintain results and continually improve the enterprise, leaders need to motivate followers so that they are engaged at all times.  Leaders must understand what causes some of the behaviors described above. A few examples: 

1. Fear: When a worker’s thoughts are dominated by fear of the leader’s reaction or losing one’s job, it can create a pent-up pool of frustration. In this situation, fear overtakes and everyone has the sense that the “eggshells” being walked on will crack and crumble. Sometimes this can result from the leader’s demeanor for that day (gossip mill: “He’s in a bad mood today so watch out”).  If workers are always worried, they may be compelled to let loose when no one is looking; this is not a fun climate for anyone.
   
2. Perfectionist: Workers and leaders are in a symbiotic relationship and it is common for the follower to want to please and satisfy the person(s) in charge. However, when nothing ever seems to please the leader, the worker may rebel. Rebellion often takes place when there is less risk of consequences, such as when the leader is absent.
   
3.  In your face: Two factors that positively correlate with worker satisfaction are the levels of autonomy and independence a worker has on the job. This is particularly true when the work has purpose and constructive feedback is provided¹. Similar to the helicopter parent, a helicopter leader is even worse. This leader seems to have an incessant need to know what is going on, even about details that have no relevance to performance. In addition, this overly watchful leader is waiting for mistakes and might constantly check on projects before a due date.  Unfortunately, this can evoke a negative reaction in followers. When the leader is present, the workers are on task; when gone, a relaxation response may occur.
   
4.  Over the top: This leader has so much energy that she/he drives everyone crazy. It is almost too much to be around this person and there is no downtime.  This boss may even leave messages for the worker at 2 a.m., providing instructions for the next day’s work. Anyone who deals with him or her can be become fatigued. Such exhaustion causes a change in behavior when the leader is absent. 

Leaders, from time to time, will evoke some or all of these reactions. However, when the reactions are persistent, it becomes problematic, and the atmosphere and the behaviors change when he or she is not present.

Ideally, the leader needs followers to consistently and steadfastly focus on the work of the business whether he/she is there or not. Achievement of this goal occurs when leaders deliberately behave in ways that reduce some of the challenges described. That is, leaders need to motivate in such a way that workers want to stay focused even when the leader is not present. There are hundreds of methods to achieve this goal, but a few are consistently important:

·         Be explicit about what is expected of workers. This involves not only work outcomes but also acceptable behaviors.

·         Determine if the culture or worker reactions are fear based. Fear drives a range of behaviors that are not positive for the business. If fear dominates, then deliberate effort must be made to change the culture. Culture change is not an easy task.

·         Dial down perfectionist, helicopter and in-your-face behaviors. The outcome is more important than the path to get there. It is not about the leader and what he or she does but instead about what his or her unit achieves and if that achievement can be repeated.

Leaders can acquire information about how well they are doing by determining what happens in their absence. The energy of the business, made up of the collective energy of all its members, is a finite resource, and leaders need to be attuned to anything (e.g. his or her behaviors) that may cause diversion. What happens when you leave the office?

Feel free to respond with your thoughts and ideas.

Reference

¹ Robbins, S., & Judge, T. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.