Leading Leaders

Regardless of what status you now hold within your organization,  you can make a positive difference. The power that you have to create change is immense. Don't believe me?  Think about the last time your co-worker vented to you about a work situation. How did you react? If you agreed with them, did they become encouraged and rant with more emotion? Of course they did, because you gave them an audience! Now imagine that same power, but steered in a positive direction.  This is leadership at the grass roots level.

Human beings look for companionship in almost all activities, and being miserable at work is no exception. If one of us hates the boss we should all hate the boss, right? 

Sure, if we all want to be unemployed.

Grass roots leaders make a huge impact by making small changes.  Some examples:

1. Rather than join group rants, look for ways to propose solutions to the problems you hear most.  Realize that the folks ranting are frustrated.  There isn't anything wrong or abnormal about being frustrated with the copier that continues to eat your TPS reports. The leader will move on from the frustration, however, and find a way to kill the copier while no one is looking.

2. Congratulate your co-workers for a job done well. Be sincere. Everyone loves to be noticed for the things that they do well, and it need not be the head honcho that speaks up in order to make a difference.  Do this often enough, and it will begin to change the behavior of those around you.

3. Tattle Good.  If you are in a position to do so, tell the big guys about the contributions others are making. It makes them look good, it makes you look good. Executives WANT to know these things. They deal with unpleasant things all day, and it is nice for them to hear something other than a complaint.

4. Manage UP. You cannot change your boss, you can only change you.  At the end of the day, we can only truly develop our own leadership skills. Learn how to become an effective people person, and you will begin to see changes in your reporting relationships.

Consultants have made a lot of money teaching executives how to create "motivational" environments for their employees. The environment that will sustain, however, is the one that the employees create for themselves.