A633.6.5.RB- Circle of Leadership

A633.6.5.RB-Circle of Leadership

            Nick Obolensky (2010) depicts a diagram for a typical vicious cycle for leaders.  I see this vicious cycle happen often in the Air Force.  Leaders take a more hands-on approach and seem to lack trust in a subordinate which then causes the subordinate to lose confidence and lower performance.  It is very similar to a self-fulfilling prophecy created by the leader.  The vicious cycle must be broken in order to improve follower-ship and performance. 

            In the vicious cycle, the follower asks for advice which demonstrates low skill to the leader. The leader then gets concerned and takes a more hands-on approach.  The follower proceeds to have lowered confidence and thinks he must defer more questions to the leader, which just starts the cycle all over again.  A more appropriate cycle or a way to break the cycle would be the leader to ask the follower, “I do not know, what do you think?” Then, when the follower comes up with a plan, the leader could say, “That sounds good, I trust you. You don’t have to worry about asking my permission in the future for problems like this.”  By doing this, the leader is instilling trust in the follower and boosting the follower’s confidence.  The leader also listened to the follower’s idea and proceeded forward with that idea.  The simple act of trust boosts the follower’s confidence which improves his productivity and makes him a stronger employee. 

            It seems like the vicious circle starts with a lack of trust by the leader and a lack of confidence by the follower.  The simple act of placing trust in subordinates and allowing them freedom to make decisions can drastically improve their performance and attitude.  The will of a person improves if they feel they are trusted and counted on.  Additionally, at least in my career field, skill can be improved simply through improved confidence.  Without gaining any more knowledge or training, employees can become more skilled just by gaining confidence.  Often times, employees know the answers or have better ideas or ways to do things, but they are just too afraid to speak their mind.  Confidence and trust are keys to productivity in organizations. 

References:

Obolensky, N. (2010). Complex Adaptive Leadership.