Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
Would you fire your boss?
It’s a question so many employees have asked themselves over the years, or at the very least imagined the hypothetical “wish” to be granted the opportunity to “Fire our boss” if they were given the opportunity. That question was the premise of our most recently released book, The Insightful Leader: Discovering Your Blind Spots Through the Eyes of Employees.
After surveying over 500 employees from small to large, private and public companies, the results of our survey showed that of those employees surveyed, 60% would fire their boss if given the opportunity.
As a follow-up question to those who responded yes, we asked survey participants, “What would they give up for one year in exchange for seeing their boss fired?” The responses were astounding. 60% of those respondents said they would be willing to give up the following:
- 22% would be willing to give up some vacation time
- 25% would give up a promotional opportunity
- 13% are willing to give up some form of short-term compensation
Films like the 1980s hit comedy 9 to 5, Horrible Bosses and even outlandish characters such as Michael Scott in The Office are both adored and hated. They resonate with us not because we admire their qualities, but because we have all, at some point in our careers, been on the receiving end of that unprofessional behavior.
All leaders have blind spots
Sometimes, leaders operate in ways that keep them from listening to and connecting with their direct reports. All leaders have blind spots. The key is to find clarity in what it means to be an insightful leader. Most direct reports hold back and won’t share their honest feelings with their manager. Secondly, most leaders don’t know what their employees honestly think of them.
Perhaps the first step is self-awareness, being mindful of your leadership style and behaviors. The most effective leaders similarly apply their leadership style as one would approach the game of golf.
As a golfer, how could you expect to hit a nice chip shot 50 yards from the green if all you had in your golf bag was a driver? Each situation a leader encounters requires a different approach.
Leadership is situational, just like the game of golf.
Where is the future of work headed?
In the past couple of years, post-pandemic research regarding employees and their work lives has continued to shake up the landscape of the work environment as we historically know it.
A re-survey last year of the very question we asked pre-pandemic to our surprise yielded one significant change: 60% would fire their boss compared to the earlier survey of 44%. With COVID-19 behind us, we thought workplaces had adjusted to the changes that resulted from the pandemic. Haven’t employees and organizations accepted the hybrid model and other significant workplace changes?
In fact, employees are as disenchanted with their leaders as ever before. A new era has arrived. Workers’ personal and professional needs are no longer binary. Leaders must not just rely on enhanced corporate policies to increase engagement and retention.
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It’s time for leaders to remove their blindfolds. It begins when you set up your direct reports for success.
Ultimately, create an environment of “insightful thinkers” who will create success for all those around them, including yourself.
10 Tips To Become An Insightful Leader
Insightful Leaders will:
- Recognize that authentic trusting relationships occur when your direct reports know you care about them.
- Modify their old, antiquated behaviors and thinking habits.
- Influence and persuade people in nonmanipulative ways by being self-aware and socially aware.
- Invite healthy debate and never fight to be right.
- Remain calm and assertive when reinforcing limits and dealing with negative behavior.
- Recognize and manage their implicit biases.
- Demonstrate empathic communication and address nonverbal communication.
- Are strategic and thoughtful in times of change.
- Are role models who always act ethically and with integrity.
- Maintain optimism, recognizing that feelings are contagious.
