No one argues that the stress you carry when you are in charge can be daunting, and it usually only gets more intense as you rise through the leadership ranks of an organization. In addition to the inherent pressures of the job itself, senior leaders carry a sense of personal responsibility with them 24/7 in ways that often feel like the weight of the world is on their shoulders.
This post is the second in a series featuring excerpts from Burl Stamp’s upcoming new book, Becoming a Better Boss, which is scheduled to be published early next year. This entry is from the chapter titled “The Better Boss Mindset.”
So, given the pressures and responsibilities that come with leadership, executives must do the most important work in the company, right? The answer to that question depends on your point of view.
When you are a customer of the company, you know that the most important work of the organization is done by the people on the frontlines. They take care of your needs and make sure the product or service you are receiving is of the highest quality.
Great bosses never forget that taking care of the people who take care of the customers is absolutely essential to sustain growth and success.
While this philosophy sounds right and reasonable on paper, the day-to-day reality is that holding a management position can be a pretty heady experience. You’ve worked hard to get where you are, right? You deserve the respect of the people who are below you, right? Staff on the frontlines don’t really understand the pressure you’re under and what it takes to run this company, right?
The temptation to begin believing that our roles and responsibilities as leaders are so much more important than the people who work for us is real and significant. It’s called hubris, and it happens when our sense of pride and self-confidence get blown way out of proportion.
One of the first times I heard the term applied as a threat to leadership effectiveness was in a presentation many years ago by Jim Collins, soon after he wrote the best-sellers Built to Last and Good to Great. Near the end of a thought-provoking, energizing workshop session with a large group of children’s hospital CEOs, he asked us, “What’s the greatest threat to each of you and your organizations?”
Most of us were thinking increased competition, reduced reimbursement, or more government regulations. His answer was hubris.
There are plenty of examples where exaggerated hubris can start to derail a successful career or company trajectory within the c-suite. But elements of hubris also can begin to impact individuals early in their management career and development. A healthy degree of self-confidence, pride, and assuredness are all essential for leadership success. But hubris can begin to take hold not only when these characteristics are exaggerated but also when they are directed solely toward self rather than in relation to the entire, hard-working team. In other words, great bosses exude confidence in the skills and experience of their team, not just in themselves. They are proud of the collective accomplishments of their team and share that sense of pride with others inside and outside of the company. And assuredness in their staff builds a strong foundation of trust that is key for teams to work well together and achieve maximum success.
Empathy is a wonderful human characteristic that improves our relationships with others in work and in life. It also is an essential characteristic for great bosses. Recognizing the pressures and stress that members of our team face every day helps us better support them; it also helps us as leaders keep our own challenges in perspective.