What kind of leader are you?
When in a leading position–and we all are leaders in one way or another–we tend, especially under stress, to go into automatic mode. We rely on habits and do what we have always done.
Find out what your automatic leadership mode is.
Do you lean more towards
– the Rescuer
– the Expert
– the Sitting Hen or are you rather more
– the Doer?
And find out what kind of work environment you create with these roles.
As you explore the following questions, think of a specific situation and a particular team you work with.
To be more effective as a leader you have to know your automatic mode and what effect is has.
Let’s get started.
The Rescuer
You’re there when emergencies arise. People rely on you. When things go wrong, everyone knows you’ll be there to save the day. That’s what you’re good at.
When it’s urgent, when your employee or peer needs help, you’re on it. When a client, a project, or a goal needs to be sorted out, the call for help is what drives you. The sense of pressure and urgency that sends everyone else scrambling is exactly what makes you most effective. You swoop in to the rescue. Trouble is what inspires you. You would never express it that way, of course. But trouble gets you going, and saving situations, people, and projects gives you the purpose you need.
Your counterpart personality is The Caller, defined by the behavior you, as a Rescuer, foster and encourage. If you have team members whose behaviors are reflected in the following description, this might also be an indicator that you display some traits of a Rescuer.
The Caller
They are the risk-takers, the adventurers, the carefree ones. They know their back is covered. They don’t need to take responsibility because you are there to rescue them. Whatever they have broken, you fix it. You calm the client, reach the goals they have missed, and finish the presentation when their experimentation fails. And their reasons are always understandable or even admirable. It’s rarely their fault. After all, they were the ones willing to try something new, to risk failure. They did their best, gave it their all, and they could do so because they knew that if it fell apart, you would be there to help them out, to rescue them.
When your workplace feels more like a fire department than a regular business, these might be the roles that drive your work culture. It certainly allows both Rescuer and Caller to feel emboldened and valuable. But there’s also a substantial risk: this arrangement can lead to a lot of stress and wasted energy instead of efficient processes and effective people.
The Expert
You are the expert! You’re in the know. You’ve been there, done it, and built valuable experience. You know the facts, the processes, the crucial details. You know the way that’s more successful, faster, easier, and less costly. You’re the person everyone asks for advice. You thrive because no one else knows more. It’s the ignorant people around you that let you shine, that give you purpose.
With this preference, you’ll foster and encourage in your team and with your colleagues the role of The Ignorant. If you have team members whose behaviors are reflected in the following description, this might also be an indicator that you display some traits of an Expert.
The Ignorant
The one thing they know for sure: others know better. Why do the research, why come up with a proposal, why remember processes? You, as their leader, already know the right way. All they have to do is to ask you for a solution, for the next step. Then their only job is to follow your instructions. It’s that easy. They don’t ask for help; they ask for step-by-step directions. After all, you are the expert. They’re lucky to have someone who always knows better. They never have to risk anything. They do as they’ve been told and if it goes wrong, it’s not their fault.
In a workplace, the expert exudes security. That’s attractive. Both roles avoid risk—the expert because her ideas are never challenged, and the ignorant because they turn toward the expert.
The risk though is a lack of engagement, a lack of creative solutions and innovation. When your workplaces suffers from a dearth of innovation and a maze of standard procedures, you might have fallen into an Expert atmosphere in which everyone relies on what has worked in the past rather than searching for what might work better in the future.
The Sitting Hen
You really only want the best for your team, your people, your peers. You care. You think ahead. The world is a dangerous place and your role is to protect your people, your business, and your money. Protecting them is what you’re here for. You’re the shield. You gently steer everyone away from all possible pitfalls, which only you can see. You don’t warn them directly of the risks, because you don’t want to hurt or frighten them. You make suggestions rather than bark orders. You herd your team, your people, your work place away from danger warmly and gently like a mother, but you also preclude them from taking risks and responsibility.
With this preference, you’ll foster and encourage in your team and with your colleagues the role of The Chick. If you have team members whose behaviors are reflected in the following description, this might also be an indicator that you display some traits of a Sitting Hen.
The Chick
They are protected. Their workplace is a safe and cozy place. You are there to guide them and to take care of them. They might think they’re prepared for an important presentation or client meeting but you will suggest another chart, more numbers, an additional approach. They’re lucky. Without even asking, you’re there with unsolicited suggestions. You make sure they’re not running into trouble. It’s a warm and safe environment. You take the heavy weight of responsibility from their shoulders, shielding them. They are risk-free and care-free.
If your work place is harmonious and cozy, if it lacks challenges, if you take all the risk to make sure your team members are untouched by pressure, then these roles might drive the underlying behavioral pattern. People feel secure, not due to the presence of an Expert’s knowledge and leadership, but because of harmonious social relationships. This might lead to a culture where critical feedback is avoided while personal and professional development stalls in order to stay in the warmth and comfort of harmony.
The Doer
You do. That’s your role. You decide, you go ahead. Coordinating takes too long; teamwork is too slow. You’d rather present people with faits accomplis. You don’t react, you act. You create facts. You take things forward, you hustle them along. Your autonomy is sacred. You’re at the front. People can follow you if they want, but they need to be fast. Because you’re fast. And whoever can’t keep up will simply be left behind. You lead the action, the doing, whereas the others are stalled in inaction, simply following and living with your decisions.
With this preference, you’ll foster and encourage in your team and with your colleagues the role of The Follower. If you have team members whose behaviors are reflected in the following description, this might also be an indicator that you display some traits of a Doer.
The Follower
It’s not their music they dance to. You are the pied piper who makes them dance. It’s your tune, and they like it. And it’s a good tune—the tune of efficiency, of progress, and often of trendsetting. It’s exciting to follow you. All they have to do is keep up, though that’s not always easy.
Do you work in a highly effective and efficient organization? This couple is all about efficiency. The Doer avoids impotence and helplessness through his doing. The Follower avoids impotence by following because following is easy and efficacious. Often one can find this constellation in organizations where the founder leads the organization. People love to follow charismatic founders; they like to envision “gurus” they can safely follow. This also often works well when the founder is a trendsetter. Once the organizations grows, the challenge is to get both The Doer and The Follower back to self-responsibility, to create effective processes and trust.
One of your employees faces a stressful, challenging problem. You …
… stop what you’re doing and help them solve the problem.
… tell them exactly what to do.
… immediately consider all the problems that this situation will cause. You make a mental note to monitor the employee closer.
… take over and fix the situation.
You see your main responsibility as a boss in …
… rolling up your sleeves and helping your staff out.
… being a hub for knowledge and how-to’s.
… being responsible for making sure that the team atmosphere is good.
… going ahead, leading the way, and getting things done.
What satisfies you most at work is …
… knowing that you’re indispensable and everyone relies on you when problems arise.
… applying your knowledge and your experience.
… showing care for the people you work with.
… taking responsibility, making decisions, and getting things done fast.
The people you work with would describe your role as:
Always being there when we need something.
Always having the perfect answer.
Caring about us.
Being our motor and driver.
You are at a friend’s party. You find yourself…
… giving your friend a hand in serving all the guests.
… thinking about how differently you would organize the party.
… lending someone an ear and a shoulder.
… initiating a game, a dance, or a discussion topic to get the party going.
What role from a James Bond movie best reflects your work role:
James Bond
Q, Head of Research and Development
Moneypenny, secretary of MI6
The Villain
If you were to write a video game, it would be one that centers …
… around risk-taking.
… around a secret.
… around people.
… around action.
What you can’t stand is when people …
… give up.
… are ignorant.
… are cold.
… are lazy.
Your attitude towards the online world is:
It’s great to reach out quickly to a large crowd of people.
It’s great to search through a lot of information fast.
It’s rather impersonal and overwhelming. You prefer working face-to-face.
It offers great efficiency, but can also be a distraction.
If you had a dog you would prefer a …
… German Shepherd.
… Greyhound.
… Golden Retriever.
… Jack Russell Terrier.
Waking up in the morning, your first work-related thought revolves around …
… a situation you plan to resolve.
… facts you need to research.
… problems you worry about.
… your to-do list for the day.
What gets you out of bed in the morning is …
… to make the world a better place.
… to discover all there is to be discovered in this world.
… to spend time with the people you care about.
… to get an even deeper understanding of things.