The Secret To Being A Perfect Team Captain And Not A Bad Boss

3back-leaderhip-white-paper-coverEvery manager or leader wants to be a Perfect Team Captain. Every organization wants to have Perfect Team Captains in all their leadership and management positions.

So why are so many managers and leaders Bad Bosses? Why do so many of them become overbearing, micromanaging, autocrats?

What’s going on here? How does this happen? How can we prevent it? How can we fix it?

Our newest white paper, Leadership, has the answers.

The following is an excerpt from Leadership:

The Team Captain is accountable for the decisions that the Team makes about what to do, and how to do it. In order for the Team Captain to be a Perfect Team Captain, the TC needs the right leadership relationship with the Team. When put into traditional management-speak, this means:

  •      The TC is the Team’s Director; accountable for defining the Team’s Missions and Objectives; making decisions about What should be done, and Why.
  •      The TC is the Team’s Manager; accountable for supervising the Team and making decisions about execution – decisions about the Who and How.
  •      The TC could be the Team’s Leader; the Team Members are following the TC for the ‘right’ reasons, which involve words like inspire, trust, respect, and admire.

director-manager-leader-venn-diagram

Looking at this diagram clearly shows where the danger lies; that trying to both Manage and Direct, without exhibiting ‘real’ Leadership, can easily lead to becoming a Bad Boss. The most common Bad Boss is a micro-managing autocrat, which is a Boss who tells the Team what to do, and how to do it, without significant feedback from, or discussions with, the Team. This often leads to Team Members becoming disaffected, disappointed, and upset – which leads to them doing less than they are capable of.

Unfortunately, in my experience, I have noticed that most of these Bad Bosses believe that they are Perfect Team Captains. After all, they are getting things done, and their people are following their instructions – they are Leaders, by gum! They can’t see that they are leading through authority, coercion, and fear; they can’t see that they aren’t ‘real’ Leaders.

To understand how to become, or create, a Perfect Team Captain, we need to understand the interplay between decision-making and Leadership. The goal is to help you understand how to help a typical Team Captain become a Perfect Team Captain.

Leverage your decision-making savvy to become or create a Perfect Team Captain.

Download the Leadership white paper now!

As Always, Stay Agile.