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behaving bf
JohnTelfer offers advice on how to tackle bad leadership
behaviour that can have a detrimental impact on the bottom line
ritish organisations are facing a talent becomes even more important. A'lotivated
talent time homh. In the most part, and loyal employees are a company's best asset
this has been fuelled hy the state of during times of economic hardship and tlic cavlx
the economy hut it has also heen stages of recovery. Good leadership during bad
exacerbated hy issues times helps to increase loyalty; bad leadership,
with leadership. however, exacerbates feelings ot distrust and lack
of commitment, making employees increasingly
What do we mean by talent time bomb? During likely to begin to look elsewhere. Yet badlv behaved
times of economic strife and high unemployment
many employees decide to sit tight in their current because most comjianics have no way to measure
job even when they're unhappy - figuring that the impact of this behavicmr on employees and on
it's better to have any job even if it's not perfect. profitabilit}', they continue to display these traits
But the resultant impact of presentccism in terms unchecked by HR and the board.
of |ir<)tluc'tivity and cniployiricnt costs often goes Bad behaviour can defined as anything generally
unmeasured, sometimes unnoticed. considered inappropriate or unprofessional in the
As the economy improves and the number workplace. This could include, but isn't limited
of vacancies increases, organisations may see an to, bad language, lyi iu; (on- and ott-
exodus of good workers who, feeling dissatisfied
and disengaged, will seek a better work life unsupportive, not listening to the opinions of staff
elsewlicre. Losing good talent at a time when the or others, not taking into account team members'
company is focused on future business growth beliefs or limitations, and/or being rude or
could put potential expansion plans at risk. Recent offensive. Of course, behaviour is very subjectiv'e,
statistics from the Office of National Statistics, and what offends one employee may not dftend
dated Q3 2012, show that the number of unfilled another, but all companies should operate within
vacancies is up by 30,000 from the same period regulations set out in employment law and
last year, reflecting a trend towards a more vibrant also operate within boundaries of good sense
recruitment market . when it comes to behaviour.
As the economy begins to pick up and the ICM recently undertook a survey of <
number ot vacancies grows, retaining the best 1,000 people in Great Britain on my
company's behalf and found that
seven out often people had left ;
a job because of a bad boss.
Ineffective management Addressing leader behaviour is ^
an action that can be taken '
is costing UK businesses now to improve worker
engagement and retention
more than Eigbnper year of the best people
before they are likely
/
'"^
in lost working hours to leave.
Reference Profitability was that British workers are less keen on having
3 IBP's As this example shows, bad or inappropriate visionary bosses who behave we, like Richard
Leadership behaviour does have a direct impact on the Branson, wanting instead those that are good at
Employee profitability and success of a company. When we team buding. The survey asked respondents to rank
Index al- analysed the results of the ICM survey against our the foowing statements in importance to them:
lows organi-
benchmarked Leadership Employee Index'', we someone who respects my views and beliefs as a
sations to
quantifiably found that the average British boss is lagging 16 person and works hard on buding relationships
measure per cent behind our good leadership practice score. that will help me succeed in my job - 34 per cent
leadership Organisations that have used the LEI to measure someone that gives me lots of guidance and
and man- leadership behaviour and have taken action to advice and ensures I develop the skills I need to
agement change it have directly achieved an average profit succeed in my job - 24 per cent
behaviours, improvement of 5 per cent. someone who encourages and nurtures my
rather
than just This quantifiable improvement on the bottom development within the organisation -
outputs. line is a compelling reason for British businesses 20 per cent
Employees to look at measuring their leaders' behaviour and someone with lots of influence and vision who
answer its impact on their workforces. inspires me to succeed in my job - 16 per cent
a series none of these 5 per cent.
of short
questions
Impact on the eeonomy
anonymous-
It's not just internally that bad leadership Behaviour versus skill
ly and the behaviour is having an impact. A poU of insolvency So how do we want our leaders to behave? We
responses experts carried out by insolvency trade body R3 asked our respondents to identify what traits they
are mapped found that incompetence or bad management by look for in an ideal boss. Surprisingly, visionary
against company directors causes 56 per cent of corporate and influential bosses were the least popular type
proven data failures, and that poor management and leadership with those surveyed - only 16 per cent felt driven
models to
is holding back the UK's economic growth'. by an inspirational leader with vision. The most
help under-
stand the If the average UK business leader is lagging 16 per commonly sought leader was the team relationship
business cent behind our good leadership practice score, that's builder who respects employees' views and beliefs
impact of not just bad for business, it's bad for the economy. (34 per cent). This means being valued at work is
leaders' and According to the research undertaken by ICM on important to employees and a key behaviour to
managers' behalf of IBP, British workplaces are rife with bad develop in staff.
behaviours
leader stereotypes like Mr Burns and David Brent Companies, however, would be skewing training
but good ones too, like Karren Brady, Alan Sugar and development budgets if they focused solely on
and David Cameron. What was surprising, however. ensuring their management were strong relationship