GOOD BOSS BAD BOSS: DON’T SHIRK THE DIRTY WORK

GOOD BOSS BAD BOSS

How to be the Best… and Learn from the Worst

ROBERT I SUTTON, PhD

SECTION II

WHAT THE BEST BOSSES DO

 

CHAPTER 7:

DON’T SHIRK THE DIRTY WORK

Every boss must do things that upset and hurt people.  It’s your job to issue reprimands, deny budget request, and transfer employees to jobs they don’t want.  The best bosses don’t delay or duck difficult deeds.  Bosses of the most productive work groups confronted problems directly and quickly, issued more warnings and formal punishment.

Bosses sometimes initiate dirty work because they believe it is the right thing to do.  Other times, bosses are asked to implement decisions they disagree with.  They realize there are times when it is wisest to do a good job of implementing a bad decision.  The upshot is there are times when every boss must do things that hurt others.  But there is a big difference between what to do and how to do it.

Research by behavioral scientist shows that dirty work does less harm when bosses add four antidotes into the mix: Prediction, Understanding, Control, and Compassion.  Good bosses express empathy and warmth when delivering bad news and implementing change.

1.       Predictability

The best bosses do everything possible to communicate when and how distressing events will unfold.  Predictability helps people know when to relax versus when dread and vigilance are warranted.  Bosses who expose people to shorter, fewer and more predictable rounds of distress promote both performance and humanity.  Predictability is all about creating realistic expectation.

2.       Understanding

Human beings can’t help wondering why things happen.  We are obsesses with and confronted by expectations.  When people have no information, they fill the vacuum by inventing and spreading false and often frightening explanations.  The best bosses know it’s better to give people explanations they dislike than no explanation at all.  Even when bosses can’t stop bad things from happening to people, less damage result when they carefully explain what will happen and why.  Skilled bosses make their explanations as simple as possible and repeat them over and over through multiple communication channels.  When fear or uncertainty is in the air, your mantra should be: Simple, Concrete, Credible, and Repetitive.  When fear or uncertainty is already in the air, people have trouble hearing the facts and are prone to assuming the worst, even when things are going well.

3.       Control

Great bosses help followers feel powerful rather than powerless.  Behavioral scientist define the perception of control is where a situation which

transformed people who felt overwhelmed and helpless, after accomplishing a string of small wins, into people who felt there is a strong link between their actions and meaningful changes around them.

Study shows that when people experience some control over their lives, they enjoy better physical and mental health.

4.       Compassion

The best bosses convey empathy as they make and implement tough decisions – which bolster performance and humanity.  You should treat people the way you’d like to be treated.  When bosses lack compassion, employees even the score.

The dirty work

i.        Is it necessary?

There are certainly times when punishment, demotions and other tough moves are most effective.  Yet, creative bosses consider if a different path is better.  Before taking a tough action, ask yourself ‘Am I doing this because it is what we’ve always done here or what everyone else does in other organization?’

ii.       Do you have the power to do it right?

When for practical reason, it is difficult or impossible to punish employee misdeeds or remove poor performers, imaginative bosses sometimes still find ways to persuade people to change their destructive ways.  When bosses don’t have the power to do dirty work right, figuring out the causes of bad behavior and trying something creative rather than punitive may be the most promising path.

iii.      Is the peer culture on your side?

Bosses who are known as fair and consistent will get more support from peer culture when they do their dirty work.  In the best workplaces, bosses and their charges agree on what is right and wrong.  Peer power can backfire.  Peer culture is maintained when bosses set the right expectations with influential members.

iv.      Are you living in a fool’s paradise?

Just because you fancy yourself as fair and humane, does not mean your people see it that way.  Punished employees often turn into alienated and angry back-stabbers.  As a boss, you can’t always (let alone control) how people react to you.

v.       Is that lie worth telling?

Research reveals that when people believe they are dealing with a liar (or a pack of them), they get angry, retaliate by bad-mouthing them and withholding effort, and lose faith in otherwise competent bosses.  What you as a boss have done in the past colors how people respond to the moves you make.

vi.      Can you keep your big mouth shut?

Dirty work requires discretion.  Initial conversation among decision makers are often best done in small groups by circumspect people.  Although there is time for open communication of facts, destructive rumors (and facts) can fly and people can be damaged by bosses who can’t keep their big mouths shut.

vii.     Do you need a bad cop?

Treat being the boss as a team effort.  If you can’t do the dirty work, recruit a bad cop to do it for you.  If you love being tough (but compassion isn’t your thing), team up with a good cop.

Beware Of The Revenge Trap

No matter how necessary the dirty work may be, the people your actions hurt sometimes battle back.  As a boss, keep your anger and vindictiveness in the heat of the moment.

The best bosses master the fine art of emotional detachment.  They learn to forgive people, especially those hurt by their dirty work.  And they learn to forgive themselves.  Forgiveness is not only useful for breaking out of the vicious circle of revenge, but people who let go their anger also enjoy better mental health, have lower heart rates and blood pressure and sleep better.

to be continued......