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Leadership is about relationships, not power

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I really like Stephan Pastis’ comic strip “Pearls Before Swine” because it’s clever and funny when he isn’t making horrible puns.  The strip has it’s main characters like Goat, Rat, and Pig but there are some other characters that occasionally make an appearance like The Wise Ass on the Hill.  The character is, you guessed it, the proverbial wise person sitting on a hill dispensing wisdom to those willing to make the journey.  The insights from the Wise Ass are normally enough to make me smile though I occasionally cringe because he hits too close to home.

What’s less amusing is when people in more senior positions adopt the model of the person at the top of the hill.  The unspoken message here is “come to me because I am too busy or unwilling to come to you.” This model comes in many guises, some of them well-intentioned like the ubiquitous “open door” policy. Spoiler alert: no one cares about your supposedly open door.  Everyone sees it for what it is, a gimmick to provide the appearance of being approachable.  The uncomfortable truth is the “come to me” model demonstrates a lack of caring and effort on the part of the supervisor.  Busyness is another poor excuse because it’s not a question of time, it’s a matter of your priorities.  When supervisors don’t make the effort to see their team the message is loud and clear: I am not the priority. Everyone knows the supervisors can make their subordinates come to them, which is why the effort of going to see them stands out.  

Leaders are well served by remembering that there is no reason for them to exist without their teams; the team does not exist to serve the leader.  This isn’t a piece about servant leadership, this is about understanding the nature of the relationship between those leading and those who are led.  All other things being equal, people who feel respected and valued outperform those who do not.  People who don’t feel valued or respected are the majority of the people who are silently quitting, and not without cause.  “Quiet quitting” may be a new trending term but it’s not a new concept.  It’s a well-established principle that people don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad bosses.  Don’t be a bad boss.  Actively work on your relationships with the members of your team to build mutual understanding and respect.  Don’t use your power to force your team to come to you; use your power to make things better for your team. Go to where they are and seek to understand the challenges they face on their turf, and for heaven’s sake, close your door so you can concentrate and get some work done.

Authored By: Jason Lamb, Managing Director

Jason Lamb

Jason is the United States Space Force's Talent Strategist. In this role, he is actively involved in crafting and executing the United States Space Force’s human capital strategy and plans. A nationally recognized thought leader in leadership and talent management, he advises Space Force senior leadership on how best to acquire, develop, engage, assess, promote, and employ its military and civilian members. Prior to his current position, Jason served over 25 years in the Air Force as an intelligence officer and retired in the rank of Colonel.

In uniform, Jason served with distinction in a variety of intelligence, staff, and command assignments in deployed combat environments, geographically dispersed organizations across the globe, and in the United States. As an intelligence group commander, he led over 650 personnel in eight units spread across four continents supporting everything from national decision making to time-sensitive tactical operations.  Jason has deployed in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, and ENDURING FREEDOM. During his career, Jason was recognized as the Air Force’s Intelligence Officer of the Year, graduated number one from his Air War College class, was awarded the Bronze Star in Afghanistan, and twice awarded the prestigious Legion of Merit.

While those accomplishments are noteworthy, he is perhaps best known for leading a significant culture shift in the Air Force and across the Department of Defense beginning with a series of articles he published under the pseudonym “Col Ned Stark.”  In those articles, Jason highlighted significant organizational culture and leadership alignment issues, provided root cause analysis, and offered innovative solutions resulting in the Chief of Staff of the Air Force offering him a senior position on his staff.  To the surprise of many, Jason chose to end his fast-track career and retire instead so that he could coach and engage with broader audiences.  The Space Force reached out to Jason to architect an innovative new approach toward talent management and leadership development that would ensure the long-term alignment of the newest armed service’s mission and values.  The result was The Guardian Ideal, described by the Chief of Space Operations as the single most important accomplishment of the Space Force to date.

Jason understands how to create and develop high-performing teams of teams.  He knows how to uncover organizational misalignment and dysfunction to craft tailored solutions that improve workforce retention and performance.  Jason is a proven leader and solver of wicked and complex problems.

Jason graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in International Relations with a minor in Japanese.  He holds four advanced degrees in organizational management, national security policy, and strategy.  Additionally, Jason is an International Coaching Federation-certified professional coach with an additional certification as an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner.  He resides in Colorado with his wife and daughter.

Victory Strategies is a Veteran Owned Business.