The legacy of horror movies in popular culture is something that brings about scary images of ever-evolving levels of monsters, villains, and creatures. Mike Myers, Freddie Kruger, Jason, Chucky, just to name a few, are the modern icons we think of when horror movies come to mind. Then there are the classics like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly, The Mummy, and of course, Frankenstein. Many of the classics had a common theme; a mad scientist created a being that turned out to be evil. In other words, they created a monster.
The movie ‘Young Frankenstein’ put a comedic twist on the legend, with the bumbling Igor bringing Dr. Frankenstein the brain of an ‘abnormal’ instead of that of a genius. The monster that was created proved to be a polar opposite of what the good doctor had attempted to bring into the world. Sound familiar, Mr. or Ms. Leader? Have you put your hopes in developing, molding, and shaping the creation of what you hoped would be a great team member and found out that you were nothing more than a quasi-Dr. Frankenstein. The monsters that leaders create can often prove to be worse than the ones they inherit. Why? Because our expectations are much higher when we ‘think’ we have identified a potential superstar and they turn out to be a dud. If we inherit a ‘monster’ on the team we took over, then we can always blame it on the previous leader, right?
Are you a Frankenstein leader? Instead of developing first-class team members and workplace superstars, are you mistakenly implanting the ‘wrong brain’ and creating monsters that will haunt your leadership journey and the mission of the organization for a long time? If so, it’s time to learn the signs of symptoms how monsters are created and how we, as leaders, must change ourselves to avoid these disasters.
FIXING DR. FRANKENSTEIN
Before diagnosing why we keep creating monsters in our organization, we must first take a long look in the mirror and face the harsh reality that WE could be the problem. Self-analysis is a great, but often painful, first step to stop the vicious cycle of filling the organization with mediocre and sometimes poisonous employees and leaders. Going back to Gene Wilder’s character in Young Frankenstein, the reason the monster was created in the first place was from an over-ambitious sadist, his incompetent staff, and the lack of direction and training to get the job done right. So in essence, we really can’t blame the monsters we create (to a certain extent) if they turn out to be duds because the problem could be with the creator. In all honesty, there are some employees who are simply ‘workplace evil’ and will do anything they can to get their own way. Others are very lazy and feel entitled. Often, however, employees with good potential can find themselves becoming the product of their creator because they are not led well at all.
THE PROCESS OF CREATION
Ambition is a wonderful thing! Striving for a leadership position is a noble endeavor and necessary to sustain businesses, governments, marriages, and ourselves. The problem with most people who get into leadership roles is not that they are not worthy or undeserving, but unprepared for what they are getting into. The way most agencies and businesses are run, promoting within is the favored approach to filling leadership and supervision roles because employers want their folks to have avenues for advancement, which lessens turnover. Therein lies the slippery slope of going from being a peer to a supervisor, which translates to the people that you now lead were your friends and equals the day before. New leaders should follow the advice of Dr. Henry Cloud who said “play the movie,” which means to look at how things will play out in the big picture before you make crucial decisions. Think about this: while it seems like being portrayed as ‘cool’ and a leader who cares about the people over those hard-nosed leaders and their deadlines is great, that approach is leadership suicide 101. The visions of how this plays out is so vivid in our heads. One of the team members in an agency bids for and gets a great promotion. Their fellow team members wish them well with congratulatory gestures and buy him/her rounds at the bar that night. The new leader/manager gloats in the moment, but commits the first action that will make them a Frankenstein leader. They assure the rest of the team that they are ‘still one of them’ and nothing will change with their friendships and how they have functioned in the past. Can’t happen! Nope! No way! In doing so, the new leader comforts their new subordinates in a bad way which will, without a doubt, create a future monster or two. As a 32-year career firefighter and fire officer, I have seen this play out way too many times when a member of a crew is promoted from being ‘on the line’ to a supervisor, such as a Lieutenant. When the new leader realizes that they cannot be ‘one of the guys’ anymore, then the expectations they had given their new subordinates will collide with the necessary responsibilities that every leader must face to achieve the goals of the unit or company. This only proves to make things worse and erode relationships that took years to build.
BEWARE OF THE CREAM
As leaders, we all want to foster an environment in which our ‘cream rises to the top.’ It’s so encouraging when we have an employee who steps up and shines without much direction and interjects pride into the organization. Leaders love these people and often find themselves favoring them, with good reason. They appear to be motivated, enthusiastic, willing to learn, and stand out among the other employees. Leaders, who often tire from dealing with day to day employee issues, can find themselves retreating into a posture in which they devote less time nurturing the ‘cream’ because they seem to get it and focus on the problems that exist with other employees. What often happens in these scenarios is the ‘cream’ is left to be held unaccountable, with lesser training, and made to believe that they are above the guidance needed to develop a superstar. In this case, you will create a future monster!
To not create monsters, the new leader should consider:
HAVING A PLAN. There are several great books that offer strategic objectives for new leaders, mostly centering on the first 90 or 100 days of getting the promotion. New leaders must buy-in to the concept that the early stages of their leadership journey is crucial and will determine if the seas will be rough or navigable. John Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership is a great tool for new leaders to set their compass on as they take the reins. Although the 5 Levels (Position, Permission, Production, People Development, & Pinnacle) are all essential axioms, a new leader must not poke their chest out and use just Positional power to influence their subordinates. Position is the easy part; people follow because they have to, but there is merit to letting your department or team understand that you have been endowed with certain authorities with the promotion. With flair and tact, the new leader must advise his/her team of the expectations necessary and that they can’t always be ‘buddy-buddy.’ In others words, you have to take control from day one or the new leader will spend most of their time taming monsters. The other important Level, Permission, is where the new leader wins the hearts and minds of their team and reinforces that their position is to be respected but they recognize the humanity of leadership. Find out the birthdays of your employees. Celebrate a new baby with a small gift! Comfort them during a time of grieving at the loss of a loved one. Let your team know you are in charge and that you care about them as people. State your position, then get their permission. The path to Level 5 will get easier and shorter.
In addition to a rock-solid plan, leaders, both new and seasoned, can avoid creating monsters in other ways:
- HIRING—even when the labor pool is low and the jobs are needing to be filled fast, take your time and make sure you vet new employees well. A little extra research and a few weeks of digging can save a leader a lifetime of headaches by not allowing potential monsters in the door.
- TRAIN EARLY–having new folks around who are untrained is tough because it creates double work for everyone. Most new employees come into the door motivated and willing to learn. Those who are trained well in the initial stages are less likely to form habits that will make them problems later. Lay out your expectations early and put new employees around your superstars and away from your monsters.
- SET A PROMOTION STANDARD—promotional standards are a roadmap for selecting future leaders. One of the best ways of retaining employees and keeping morale high is to let your team know what they have to do to get promoted. Many agencies and businesses still operate on the system that promotes based solely on seniority and this is one of the biggest monster creators there is. Let your ‘cream rise to the top’ and lay out educational and development criteria that allows superstars to be awarded for their efforts and experience.
- CAREER TRACKING—many businesses and government agencies utilize a ‘Professional Development Plan,’ which is a tracking tool to allow team members to write their own story as it relates to what they want from their working journey. Sit down with new employees or leaders and ask them the following:What are your career goals and what are your working dreams? Where would you like to be in the company?What can the company or the leadership do to help you?
- POSITION THEM FOR SUCCESS—let your people become superstars before they become monsters. Give them educational opportunities and access to training. Put them in networking situations where they will meet new people and build their support systems. Sponsor them in Rotary, Kiwanis, or other civic clubs that help build professional networks. Let them get involved in community activities on behalf of the organization and allow them to pose for the newspaper too.
Creating monsters is easier than you think. With the right combination of early training, accountability, and motivation, leaders can take a proactive role in fostering a climate of growth and stability. When the leaders sets out on his quest to not create monsters, the first place to start is always the mirror.