What the truck is going on?
When they find no other way to get things done; fear, force, and intimidation are the fallback solution
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Fight or flight … one of man’s oldest and most ingrained traits. It is an automatic physiological reaction to stress. It seems that our neighbors to the North have decided to fight. Was fear, intimidation, and force the only way to get these truckers to change their mind?
Let us look at other methods of influence. Believe it or not, there is a better way other than threats of jail and taking away someone’s livelihood and freedom, to get things done.
Amazingly enough, it’s called Leadership.
John C. Maxwell’s famous quote:
Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.
How do we get people to do the things we need to get done? Whether it is a special project at work, working on a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, or getting someone to move a truck off the Ambassador Bridge?
Types of influence
Maxwell, in his best-selling book, “Becoming a Person of Influence” outlines seven methods of influence. The closer you are to the bottom of this list, the better.
Force - there is no other choice
Intimidation - my way or the highway, gun to the head
Manipulation - there is a clear winner and loser
Positional - we follow because we have to (boss / employee)
Exchange - there is a win win
Persuasion - we follow because we want to
Respect - we follow purely out of respect for the request (think Mother Teresa)
How to avoid moving up this list?
Our goal is to build respect with our team. When tough decisions are made, they will follow because they respect us, or we have persuaded them. They must believe us.
It is hard not to be cynical of our government officials. Just last week at the Super Bowl, both the Mayor of Los Angeles, and the Governor of California, were pictured throughout the event not wearing the face masks that they mandated. Neither were the other 100,000 in the stadium, but why should they? If those in power truly believed this was to keep people safe, then lead by example. They have lost the respect of the voter.
As a leader of your team, the one thing you can’t afford to lose is respect. From day one, you need to be banking on that. Making daily deposits to your balance and not withdrawing. You will run into a crisis someday, and you will need this savings account. Here are some simple things you can do today, to start earning respect:
Connect to your team. Management by walking around is something we recommend to every client. Get to know your team, find out how decisions are impacting them. Don’t just talk to them, connect on common ground, find out what matters.
Listen to your team. Make sure you are hearing and acting on what they are telling you. We wrote a few days about fixing the damn roads. Get those small problems taken care of so that when a big decision needs to be made, they trust you.
Have Faith in them, and don’t treat them like children. Let them find their own way, making their own mistakes.
That is our goal as leaders. We are aiming for respect. Everything falls into place once we have it. People comply because they trust you.
Slow erosion of faith and respect
For you avid readers of this blog, this may be familiar to you. I look at trust and respect something like this.
Picture an above ground swimming pool filled with water to the top. Each time you break a trust, avoid correcting an issue that your team wants, or simply don’t listen to them, a hole is poked in the side. We poke holes down the side of the pool every few inches starting from the top with every infraction. With each hole more water pours out until a new ‘level’ is set. Or, until the pool is empty.
Unfortunately the divisive political landscape we now live in, has poked holes in pools on both sides of the aisle. Trust is at an absolute low, and approval ratings once in the 80’s, are now getting close to single digits. The only way left for this group to lead is by force.
This chart shows what a leak looks like:
How many times can you poke a hole in your pool before the trust and respect is all gone? Don’t let this happen to your team, group, or organization.
A perfect example of popping and patching a hole
Think of the Johnson & Johnson management team during the Tylenol recall. For those of you that don’t remember this, there were 7 deaths nationwide from poison found in a Tylenol capsule. After investigation they found evidence of malicious tampering of the product, although the killer was never found.
When faced with this scandal, the Board of Directors at J&J convened and immediately removed 31 Million bottles of Tylenol off the shelf and replaced it for free. It was a $100 Million decision. They made this decision on day one. Not waiting for public opinion polls, surveys, or focus groups to find out what the people were thinking. Today J&J is still one of the most trusted brands in the world. They patched, repaired, and refilled their pool immediately after one hole was punched!
Don’t let the water out of your pool. Start with that in mind from day one, or at least today. If you have a leak, fix it immediately and take ownership of the issue.
If you have some leaks that you want repaired, connect with us at the Kole Performance Group, and we can help you patch them up. It’s hard work today, but it will lead to a better tomorrow.