Have you ever done this?
Something has gone wrong and you try to hide it so nobody finds out.....so you don't get in trouble...
Sure you have, we all have....
But, have you noticed how it nearly always gets found out?
And when it does the problem is ten times worse!!
Now you are a Leader..... you are generally the one who finds it .....
What do you do when you find it?
And this is the critical point at which your Leadership will succeed or fail.
Because you have done this in the past, you know what that person is feeling... they are fearful of getting in trouble....
But why?
Because of the culture that is present at that organisation....
Because the same reason you swept it under the carpet, because you had seen others get in trouble for mistakes, perhaps they were shouted at or punished or even lost their jobs.
That's why you tried to sweep it under the carpet...
Now, here we are at this critical point, where tension is high, emotions are up.... there is a feeling of betrayal that one of you team members would hide something from you...
How you choose to respond now is critical to the development of the culture of your organisation, your team...
As you are reading this, I am sure you have reacted unresourcefully in the past....and in the calm light of day, the correct response is as clear as the nose on the end of your face...
But in the heat of the moment.....do you really have the necessary skills, tools and strategies.....those soft skills....to make the right response?
You know when there is money and reputation at stake!
Because those so called "soft" skills are the hardest to master, because when the shit hits the fan....and it does... that is the time when those "soft" skills become the hard skills that save your culture, embrace the error and you discover why the error happened in the first place.
Those "soft" skills are what is displayed to your team and it is those "soft" skills that set the tone, the culture and the mindset...
Those "soft" skills that the majority of Leaders think are a waste of time.... are the skills that create Great Leaders and Great Cultures....
Cultures where no rug is required, because they know that when then make a mistake they can put their hand up and it will be nipped in the bud.....
The Great Leaders can access these "soft" skills at the drop of a hat, they are natural to them, they come with ease....even in very high pressure.
How did they get to this point?
By learning, studying, practicing, fine tuning, implementing and doing it so often, it is as natural as breathing.
Can anyone become a Great Leader......yes.....
However, don't neglect the "soft" skills....or you will just be a Manager or Supervisor....and you will be forever discovering shit that has been swept under the carpet.....perhaps when you are doing it yourself too.
Do the Inner Work, our world needs Great Leaders....we have far too many Managers and Supervisors....we are short of Great Leaders.