by Michael Holland
In a moment, the perception of how President Barrack Obama spends his time was vastly changed. The raid and killing of the infamous terrorist Bin Laden revealed the depth and breadth of critical and non-critical activities the President was involved in over the last several months. The juggling of information, decisions and moving projects/agendas forward is evident in the contrast of his leadership activities.
As we lead our companies and teams, we are constantly placed in positions where we must manage secretive and/or not-ready-for-prime-time information. The appearance of what we have going on is never the full picture.
- We know ahead of time that we will fire that manager down the hall.
- We may know for weeks or months that a transaction is forthcoming and when it closes, we will be telling many people they are “the synergies” sought to fund the deal (their jobs will be eliminated).
- We may know ahead of time the company will be giving raises this year though they will be very small and unpopular.
- We may know that one of our staff is dealing with a physical domestic abuse situation and that’s why we are allowing her so much flexibility in her schedule.
- We may know about the future promotion of the top- notch manager before it is announced.
You may question the depth and breadth of work your boss or peers appear to be investing in the company. But I believe you should first ask yourself this: how much freedom from judgment am I allowing for my boss and peers and employees when I don’t know – nor should I know – everything that is going on.
It may be best to work off this premise: accept and believe in your superior as you’d like your team and employees to accept and believe in you.
