261. Embracing Growth: The 4 Leaders Who Fail

Imagine you have a well.

It’s one of those old-school, stone wells with the crank handle and the bucket.

It’s probably sitting in the middle of a lush green field somewhere in Ireland because, hey, why not?

Let’s also imagine you have a herd of sheep.

You want your sheep to be happy and productive because, well, that’s your job. As it turns out, the sheep need water to be happy and productive.

Thank God you have a well.

Any questions so far?
Great. ‘Cause now we’ve got to talk about embracing growth.

There are four different types of leaders that we will discuss. We’ll look at how each of them uses the well water to feed their sheep.

If you want to be a leader that embraces growth – which, by the way, you do – it is really important for you to understand these archetypes.

So pay close attention.

Embracing Growth With The Undecider

The first scenario involves the Undecider.

The Undecider goes up the hill to fetch a pail of water.

[Editors Note: <eyeroll>]

As The Undecider nears the well, they begin to wonder if the well water is healthy for the sheep. They tell themselves that maybe they need more research before risking the sheep’s well-being with that well water.

So they turn around and go home.
They don’t get the water.
And they don’t do the research.
And the sheep remain thirsty.

All of this is because The Undecider has a hard time making decisions that involve risk. Instead, they simply avoid decision-making.

Sound like anyone you know?

Embracing Growth With The Invalidator

The next scenario involves The Invalidator

The Invalidator goes to the well.

When they get there, they lower the bucket, raise it back up and confidently walk the bucket down to the sheep pasture.

Once they get to the pasture they realize that, surprise surprise, there is no water in the bucket.

Maybe they didn’t lower the bucket enough?
Perhaps the well was dry?
Or maybe there’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza.

This is the problem with The Invalidator, though they aren’t scared of making decisions, they don’t bother to validate whether their choices will achieve the ultimate goals.

Instead, they act impulsively and later wonder why it didn’t work.

That’s not good.

Embracing Growth With The Shortcutter

The next scenario involves The Short Cutter.

The Short Cutter hurries to the well and notices that the bucket is already 1/4 full. They’re in a rush and have a busy day ahead so they unhook the bucket and hustle to the sheep pasture.

But it’s not nearly enough water for the sheep.

But, hey, The Short Cutter is busy so they decide to just leave the empty bucket on the ground in the pasture.

The next rain will fill it up, right?

Therein lies the problem with The Short Cutter: they just want to get things done and get it done quickly. They never think of creating efficient and scalable processes.

The result is chaos.

Next!

Embracing Growth With The Ball Dropper

The last scenario involves The Ball Dropper.

The Ball Dropper confidently strides to the well and lowers the bucket. It fills up with water and they raise it back up.

The Ball Dropper, at this point, is pretty darn proud of themself.

They pat themself on the back for doing a job well done and then they walk away, leaving that full bucket of water sitting at the well and the sheep wondering what the hell is going on with all these crazy people.

That’s the problem with The Ball Dropper, they begin tasks and never finish them.

They never hold themselves or other people accountable.

In the end, The Ball Dropper is probably just gonna blame the sheep for being thirsty anyway.

The Leader Who Is Embracing Growth

What does this all mean?I’m glad you asked.

The bucket of water represents the inspiration to grow and to be productive. The sheep are the employees who are thirsty for that inspiration.

It is the leader’s job to grow a business.

However, there are four bad leadership habits that destroy the ability to effectively grow. They each result in uninspired employees.

The four bad leadership habits are:

• Poor decision-making (The Undecider)
• Failure to validate new concepts (The Invalidator)
• Inability to create scalable processes (The Short Cutter)
• Lack of accountability (The Ball Dropper)

As you read through those, I’m sure you can think of people you know who fall victim to each of the habits.

After all, almost every leader has a weakness in at least one of these habits. I see it all the time in my leadership coaching practice.

Having that weakness is ok. I mean, it’s ok as long as you acknowledge your shortcomings and make up for it

The problem arises when a leader fails to acknowledge and address their challenges.

It’s a big problem.
Big enough for the employees to scramble to greener pastures… if you know what I mean.

When The Leader Is the Problem

Many leaders don’t even realize that they are the bottleneck for growth.

Here are some typical scenarios:

• They may blame the staff for not moving fast enough, but they are the ones who are holding up decisions.
• They may be overloaded with to-dos, but feel like they can’t delegate because nobody can do it as well as them.
• Or they may get frustrated that deadlines are continually missed, yet they never hold themselves – or anybody else – accountable.

All of these are a problem.

Embracing Growth Starts With Embracing Change

So tell me, which of the habits are your weaknesses? (drop it in the comments)
What what about your boss?

It is critical for leaders to continually self-reflect. You need to recognize your tendencies – which ones are energizing the employees and which ones are demotivating them.

To put it in a positive perspective, the leader who is embracing growth is one who:

• Is an efficient decision-maker
• Validates concepts before acting impulsively
• Creates scalable processes
• Holds themselves and their team accountable

Now’s the time to take a good look at yourself. Hold up that mirror.

Are you the leader who can’t make risky decisions?
Maybe you continually act impulsively?
Are you terrible at creating processes?
Or do you suck at holding yourself and others accountable?

If you want some advice, drop me a line. It’s what I do in my executive coaching practice.

As the saying goes:

You’ve got nothing to lose but your herd.

[Editors note: that’s not a saying]

Disclaimer: Because I used sheep as the analogy for employees, it does not mean I think you’re a sheep. I just figured it was better than calling you a goat. Or a cow. Or a llama.

[Editors note: No animals were hurt in the writing of this article. Though the author may have been]