Are You Undermining Your Own Authority
By VICKY BROWN
You know, authority is an interesting thing. On the one hand, it can have some negative connotations – after all some synonyms for authority are command, control, jurisdiction, power and my favorite – dominion. Sounds like big brother in the 33rd century.
But on the other hand – in a team environment, it’s important to have a leader who holds authority. Because, when used correctly, your authority allows you, as the leader, to hold your team members accountable – in terms of behavior and performance. You can use your authority to hold the bar high and coach team members to meet or exceed that bar.
But you can’t do any of that if you’re shooting yourself in the foot by undermining your own authority.
Oh, don’t laugh – it’s an easy thing to do, and it can happen while you’re not even looking.
Now, there are lots of ways you can erode your authority, but here are a quick 5 that you probably haven’t thought of.
Are you on time? Listen, as someone who, during certain periods of my life, has had a (shall we say) flexible relationship with time – I get it. You just want to quickly get that one last eMail done, make that one phone call, finish off that one bit of that last spreadsheet. Besides, the meeting starts at 1 and it’s only 12:58.
OK – you know what I’m going to say – you’re already late. And habitually showing up late (even if it is a meeting you called) is a really bad look. And it gives the impression that you’re sloppy in your personal accountability. And most importantly – you don’t value other people’s time, or even your own.
Fashionably late for cocktails is one thing. But there is no fashionably late for the staff meeting.
“…few things are less attractive in business than being unprepared“
And speaking of looking sloppy – few things are less attractive in business than being unprepared. As Meryl Streep’s Miranda said in the Devil Wears Prada – ‘why is no one ready?’
When you’re not prepared it puts you in constant reaction mode. You don’t have your ducks in a row – heck, you don’t even know where your ducks are. You can’t make considered responses to questions that come up. And you can’t be certain you have fully grasped the information at hand.
Now sure – you may be thinking, ‘But I’m so good at thinking on my feet. That’s when I’m my most creative’ Well, you may get some creative juice once in a while, but for the most part you’re burning energy trying to keep up with the discussion without all the facts. And don’t fool yourself – your team can tell. And since you’re modeling behavior for them – it makes it a bit hypocritical of you to get in a lather when they show up unprepared…or for that matter….late.
Do you consider yourself a decisive person? Well, there are 2 aspects of being decisive that are critical to your authority. First, you actually have to commit to facing and making the hard decisions. After all, who wants to follow someone that runs and hides when difficulties come up and need addressing. Sure, some people will certainly be unhappy with your choice – but that’s the road of a leader. You’ve simply got to know it’s going to happen, and make the decision anyway. You can’t make everyone happy, but you can certainly make everyone unhappy – by taking a pass.
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And once you decide – stick to it. Don’t be wishy washy – that’s the other important part of being decisive that you’ve got to master. Now, I’m not saying stick doggedly to your guns when all available information and facts say you should make a change – that’s just being stubborn. No, if you get additional information, and after due consideration you determine that a different choice would be best – then go for it.
But if every time you make a decision, you second guess yourself, or keep asking Sally, James and Paul if they think it’s the right thing to do – well, THAT’s being wishy washy. You’re just telegraphing that you’re uncertain and not committed to the decision.
And finally, any time you hear your inner voice (or outer voice) saying ‘that’s how we’ve always done it’. Well, just know that’s a sure sign that you aren’t open to innovation or growth. You’re stuck. Doing the same things, the same way is how you operate. So, how can you expect to grow your team, and push them toward being innovative. Right, you can’t. And that mindset completely undercuts your authority to develop your team.
So, to be the best leader you can be (and the leader your team needs you to be) – you’ve got to keep an eye on what you’re doing and how it looks. After all (and yes, I know you’ve heard this before), you are the one setting the tone for the team, you set the standard, what you do counts. Your team is looking to you to understand how they’re expected to show up. So give them a good example, then they’ll know that’s what you want.
And on the flip side, give them a poor example – and no matter if that’s what you want or not – that’s what you’ll get.
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