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Don't Lead from the Front

'Leading from the front' is not a great idea in the corporate world as one should have an 'army of thinkers' and not an 'army of doers', feels Srinivasan Iyer

Your team is out there in the middle facing the competition. And nothing seems to be going right. What do you do? Go out there and hit a few sixes that clear the ground? You demonstrate your playing skills and win the match for your team. You also win the 'man of the match' award and may go on to win the 'man of the series' award. Your team applauds you, respects you and even idolises you. Good for you, but is it good for the team?

You may wonder why 'Leading from the front' is bad for your business. Prima facie, there seems to be nothing wrong in pitching in and helping your team now and then. It sends a strong message that you care for your team and you are there for them when they need you the most. You are setting a great example. What could be wrong with that?

Before you became a manager, it was all about how 'good you were' in delivering results. It was about your performance and your ability to solve problems. You were probably promoted as a manager as a reward for your consistent performance. But once you become a manager, your strength in being a 'star Performer' may prove to be your biggest impediment to your personal growth and also to the success of your team.

Involving yourself directly in what your team should be doing is not leadership. Your role is not to do the work, but to get it done effectively. The leadership style of 'leading from the front' has been borrowed from the armed forces. It is the General who issues orders and the soldiers are supposed to execute them without any questions. You can't call for a meeting of your soldiers and democratically decide the line of action when you are in the line of fire.

Face the reality. You cannot shoot from your hip in the corporate arena and expect your team to toe the line. 'Leading from the front' is not a great idea in the corporate world. There are numerous instances of ex-defense personnel, known for their integrity and commitment, handpicked by CEOs to lead a team of a company, failing miserably.

Great teams are not those who look up to their leaders every now and then. In fact, great leaders are those who ensure that their teams perform effectively even when they are not around. Even in the battle, what if the General gets killed? Does the army run helter-skelter? No. Why? There is a backup plan to every strategy. And there is a 'leader in the making' behind every successful leader. The second line is groomed to take command.

Just pause for a moment and introspect. What kind of an army do you have? Do you have an 'army of doers' who are loyal, dedicated and ready to execute but always waiting for your orders? Or do you have an 'army of thinkers' who come up with out-of-the-box ideas, who are adept in planning as well as executing strategies?

You need to groom your team to complete challenging tasks successfully. The best way to do that is to communicate your expectations from each of your team members clearly, give them a broad road map and lay out the deadlines. There are only two steps to effective delegation. The first step is to 'Show the way'. The most important step is the second one. And that is 'Get out of the way'. Delegate and once you have done that, keep it delegated.

Learn to let go. Learn to step back and let your team figure out effective ways of achieving its goals. Your team may not do things the way you would like things to be done. But it hardly matters. What is important is they own the goals and deliver results within the stipulated time frame.

How can you expect your team to take initiative to come up with ideas? How can you help them own up the accountability for their errors? You can't do that by hovering over their shoulders and breathing down their necks. Let's face it. Most managers, who lead from the front don't trust that their people would do a good job by themselves.

Some managers adopt a paternalistic approach towards their team. They are always around to 'rescue' their team members from committing errors. If a senior sales manager and his colleague visit a doctor, who does the detailing? If you do the talking, your colleague would expect you to do so time and again. Interestingly, your customer would also prefer to listen to you than your colleague. You may seal the deal for him. But unintentionally you have also sealed his career growth.

Then, you have managers who feel that no one else can do the job as perfectly as they can. Whilst this may be true to an extent, it's not a valid justification for not allowing your team the freedom to commit mistakes and learn. Your team members may not be perfect. That's precisely why you should see that they get adequate on-the-job training. You can coach, counsel and mentor them. But don't roll up your sleeves and get down doing their job.

Does all this mean that you abdicate your responsibility? Am I advocating a laissez faire management style? No. You can delegate the work but you can't delegate your responsibility. You need to monitor how the project is progressing periodically and suggest corrective action as necessary. But while you do that, please resist your urge to 'step in' and 'meddle' in the work.

Often managers who participate in my coaching workshops have this question for me. "Delegation is a great idea. But how do I delegate when I don't have a second line?" My answer to them is "you can't groom a second line unless you delegate".

When you hit the winning run and your team applauds, it's a great feeling. But imagine how it would feel when a young team member overcomes his nerves and comes true for the team. As a leader, your success is not measured by what you do. Rather, your success is measured by how your team successfully evolves into a high performing team.

The writer is a Keynote Speaker, CEO Coach and Management Consultant to 400 leading companies of India

srini@mpowerexcellence.com