Customer-Centric, Employee-Centric, Stakeholder-Centric, Manager-Centric, Rule-Centric, Child-Centric, Parent-Centric, Egocentric, etc. Centric behavior suggests that something or someone is at the center of all your thinking, conversations, and behaviors. We have seen so many recent examples of centric behavior that fly in the face of all common sense. United Airlines and various police departments continue to keep our social media conversations active regarding what appears to be overplayed rule-centric behavior. Just because it is legal or part of policy and procedure, hardly suggests it is the right reaction. In general, I believe that every organization employs intelligent leaders and employees who at large, want to do the right thing. They want to be of service, follow the rules, and get their work done without causing problems. Unfortunately, some people have become unconscious to their centric behavior and tendencies. My argument is not that centric behavior is bad, it is just overemphasized when it guides all reactions. In another life, when I worked as an HR director, I constantly battled my own centric behavior. If I sided with employees too much when they complained about their manager or the organization, I could be accused of being employee-centric and risk management’s trust. If I ruled for the managers too much, employees would not trust HR and think I was manager-centric. It is a tough balancing act that requires a conscious effort to see everyone and everything as unique while managing the policies and procedures that necessitate some type of consistency. Now that I work as an executive coach, I see first-hand how leaders struggle, as I did, trying to mitigate their centricity. Some leaders have such a strength of empathy they have become employee-centric in their interactions and often unknowingly put their company at risk by not representing decisions as a leader or representative of their organization. Sometimes leaders are so conscious of the marginalized voices in their midst; they misrepresent the intentions of other leaders who have a different centric lean. Then there are leaders who feel discomfort with taking a case-by-case perspective and rely heavily on what they can see, hear, and understand from a literal perspective. They rely on history and conformity and may be reluctant to consider new information that emerges, which requires a deeper level of sense-making and adaptability. It requires a level of discernment to not become too centric. Effective leaders, who are committed to their own development, can hold multiple perspectives and see the relevance in each viewpoint without being paralyzed by the tension. Our world barely operates in simple terms anymore. We are lucky when things are just complicated as most of leadership swim in the dark waters of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). Our VUCA world requires us not to be subject to our centric thinking and behaving but to become instead conscious of it so we can make effective decisions. Leaders need to be willing to talk amongst themselves about their centricities and work with their executive coaches to ensure they are not overly reliant on a certain type of belief system. In what ways might you be overly centric? The first answer may not be the real answer. Leaders in the workforce wrestle with provocative questions like:
Nothing is more uncomfortable than an outfit that digs into the gut, pinches the toes, or swallows you whole. Based on Northouse’s last count, there are 63 different theories of leadership. There are dozens of competencies, skills, and behaviors attached to those theories that range from ‘action oriented’ to ‘written communication.’ I liken it to a large walk-in closet stuffed with clothes. When leaders emulate what others define as effective, they may be trying on too many things with few the right fit. We only feel like ourselves when we wear things that hang on our frame in flattering ways. To find the right fit, we can try on a bunch of different outfits, or we can simplify by taking down our personal measurements and then styling our frames based on actual data. When it comes to leadership, don’t just describe your style, vision, and strengths using generic labels and lists of competencies. It is no longer appropriate to say you are a good listener or a good public speaker. Listening and talking are no longer refined enough labels. It is like telling a stylist you like to wear shirts and pants. Some things are naturally assumed. It is also not okay to describe your style, vision or strengths using language you think others want to hear. If you say you are a strategic thinker but then spend all your time as a leader managing and measuring the work, you may have borrowed a strength that is truly not your own, while underplaying something else that is significant. I am noticing many leaders fail to know the essence of their leadership. They do not have the descriptors or expressions to articulate how they lead and what it looks like when they are at their best. They want to be effective but it is not a ‘want’ that has led them to take action regarding self-knowledge. Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom - Aristotle There are dozens of leadership assessments, style personalities, leader profiles, values exercises, and various indexes out on the market. Each can give you deeper insight into self. Almost every one of my readers has taken a least one if not many of these instruments. What have you done with those results? Dust them off and find patterns and phrases that help you get clarity on your style, vision, and strengths. Your coach is a good place to go for support with this work?
How well do you know your leadership? What language do you use when describing it to others? Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.): Sage Publications. |
Carrie Arnold, PhD, MCC, BCCIn no particular order: Author | Dog mom | Speaker | Reader | Mom to human offspring | Wife | Lover of Learning | Leadership coach & consultant, The Willow Group | Faculty for Evidence-Based Coaching at Fielding Graduate University
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