Send to KindleThe Good Leader/Bad Leader List
One of the exercises I advise new leaders to try is the “Good Leader/Bad Leader” List. It’s simple. Just draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper. Title the left side, “What I’ve Seen Leaders Do That I Liked.” Title the right side, “What I’ve Seen Leaders Do That I Didn’t Like.”
The exercise is pretty self-explanatory from there, but it’s deceptively simple. Of course, you’ll write some examples in each category. Keep the paper handy and when new examples crop up, add them to one side or the other of your list.
Review the list occasionally. You will probably begin to see similarities between the issues you face now as a leader and those that you observed in the past. You may also find that what you recorded as good or bad leadership may not now fit quite as well in one or the other category. That’s because you didn’t know everything those leaders knew. When I was new to the working world, I found there were things I liked that my bosses did and things I thought were really quite stupid, and I failed to comprehend why they didn’t take my advice on matters I felt they were approaching incorrectly.
As I began taking on leadership roles myself, something became clear to me that was clouded in that brash, youthful exuberance. Leaders have to deal with circumstances that their followers don’t see. I discovered that some of the things I had observed my bosses do that seemed wrong actually came from a requirement or influence of which I was unaware. When I realized the rest of the story, their actions didn’t seem quite as wrong.
On the other hand, some of the things I had originally thought were good turned out to be a leader’s most expedient action in order to avoid more difficult, and perhaps unpopular, decisions.
And that is where the “Good Leader/Bad Leader” model comes in. The value in the exercise is two-fold. First, it’s good to think about what you see as good and bad leadership techniques. When faced with a particular dilemma I’ve always found it helpful to reflect on what my own leaders did in similar situations.
The second is to serve as a reminder that leadership is not always easy and as leaders we will never make everyone happy. That’s a perhaps uncomfortable, but absolutely critical realization. As leaders we have to make decisions and take action based on the good of the organization, and sometimes that isn’t the easiest or most popular answer.
Go ahead, try the exercise and remember what Carl Jung said,
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
