Young professionals as well as accomplished leaders have one
issue in common: “how to speak up to the boss”. Granted, young professionals
are likely to be on cleft wicket in dealing with their bosses, given that they
are at the start of their career but it is strange but true that even leaders
who have made their mark need to be circumspect in how they speak and what they
speak. Even the CEOs and founders of companies are accountable to investors and
society. Of course, in the final analysis, all of us are accountable to our
Supreme Boss, God Almighty! Such divine accountability being separate, in the
normal human situation one tends to be reporting or accountable to one or more
bosses. And, unfortunately, once one joins a firm, it is the boss who plays God
till the very end of career. To aggravate matters, bosses may change but
bossism won’t!
Leadership style is the modern day euphemism for the earlier
era bossism. While management experts have tried to make it appear as though
bossism is limited to only the authoritarian or task oriented leadership
styles, bossism has now become such a subtle but equally punchy concept that it
permeates all leadership styles. Some may be lucky to get an apparently nice
boss while fewer numbers could be exceptionally lucky to get to choose their
apparently nice bosses. Most, however, have to endure bossy bosses! Bosses may
be exceptional but there cannot be any exception to bossism. Under some
leadership styles, bossism could be gross and crass while under some leadership
styles it could be subtle and suave. As one starts his or her career journey at
the bottom of the career pyramid, or recalibrates the career later on in life,
one needs a robust capability to handle bossism.
Bossism defined
Bossism is closely associated with political organizations,
from the times such organizations took shape. Bossism is a pejorative typically
applied to leaders who control the selection of their political party’s candidates
for elected office and dispense patronage without regard for public interest.
It is unclear how this concept seeped into business or service organizations
but the fact of the matter is that bossism is a reality. The origins of
industrial engineering concepts such as supervision, management, centralization
and span of control as well as the power of authorities to dispense rewards and
privileges could have also created a helpful climate in organizations for
bossism to entrench itself. Excessive bossism has led to rebellious pushbacks
from the working class in yesteryears, bringing forth a host of industrial
relations issues. Bossism, over the recent years, has moved from being a
visible blue collar issue to becoming a latent white collar concern too.
In the modern day corporate context, bossism has several
connotations. Leaders who demand implicit loyalty, expect blind execution and
brook no discussion from their teammates (or, even from their peers) are a
personification of bossism. Bossism is reflected in a failure of leader to
appreciate work-life balance and the determination of a leader in achieving
success at any cost. Subtle shades of bossism include being narcissistic in
style, playing favourites, and promoting a ‘yes’ culture. In oriental cultures
which deify authority, bossism and its implicit acceptance come naturally.
While bossism thrives in servile teams, the ultimate satisfaction for a bossy
leader is getting a candid team on to its knees and making it servile. Bossism
is not necessarily synonymous with aggression. Aggression is not necessarily
harshness or selfishness, and can be displayed by teams in camaraderie as much
as by leaders driving obedient teams to hard tasks. Per contra, soft-speaking
leaders with facilitative charades could be quite bossy in persisting till
their teams wilt without a whimper in the leaders’ apparent kindness!
Perils of bossism
Bossism has many perils; it sniffs out free speech in
organizations and denies the benefit to organizations of the benefits of
multiple viewpoints. To be competitive and successful, organizations need to
master and execute on the best of the several pathways. In a way, bossism is
worse than authoritative or task style of leadership because bossism has no
intellectual point of view, per se. Bossism is particularly hard on the
millennials generation which is brought up in a rather free information society
but is cramped into bossy organizational cultures for want of choice.
Leadership development in organizations takes a big hit with a bossy culture.
Bossism has an infectious facet of seeping into the broader organization, with
subordinates sulking under bossy leaders also turning bossy themselves.
Organizations exist to deliver value to society through
competitive superiority. Competitive advantage comes with superior decision
making. There are three essential steps in decision making in organizations.
First is conceptualization, second is analysis, and third is solution
development. All the three phases are dependent on a free and fertile mind, and
an open and free expression. As bossism curtails these free processes, team
members also, over time, find it convenient to acquiesce, and shift the blame
to their leaders. One wonders if the great leaders of the past and present did
not have the DNA of speaking up for positive things and against negative things
whether national transformations would have occurred. It follows, therefore,
that professionals should have the ability to retain their independence of
thinking and have the ability to speak up.
Speaking up
Speaking up in bossy organizations, or for that matter in any
organization, does not happen naturally and easily. Speaking up is not just not
just about language skills to construct sentences or having personal guts to
deliver difficult statements. This blog post proposes that speaking up to the
boss is not a matter of just diction; it requires a model of DICTION! Diction
is defined as the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. It
also reflects the style of enunciation in speaking. Diction, no doubt, enables
communication, and the right diction adds value to the communication. However,
for individuals to express themselves constructively and effectively, a model
of DICTION is required. DICTION refers to Discipline, Intellect, Courage,
Tolerance, Insight and Novelty as the six component synergistic combination of
skills and attributes that is required for not only for constructive expression
but for cultural transformation. DICTION as a model is relevant for leaders as
well as the led, across all levels of an organization.
Discipline
Discipline is the fundamental requirement of constructive
expression. In regimented organizations which curb expressions, the discipline
of speaking with responsibility makes it difficult for bosses to curtail
expression. On the other hand, irresponsible and undisciplined speech will only
provide handle to regimenting bosses to stifle any speech.
Intellect
Intellect is what distinguishes the knowledgeable from the
flippant. Intellect is the faculty of reasoning and understanding objectively,
and building a body of knowledge. Intellect is the shield that protects the
speaker against unreasonable bossy onslaughts. Logic and reasoning have
historically been the factors that challenge the dictators and stimulate the
subjects. The organizational context is no different.
Courage
Courage is being fearless. Courage in an organizational
context does not mean daredevilry; rather it means a fearlessness to speak
one’s mind based on one’s courage of convictions. Many times, speech is
replaced by silence for fear of annoying others or facing retribution in terms
of holdbacks in career. On the other hand, only courageous people can translate
their intellect into actionable ideas that would make sceptical bosses take
note.
Tolerance
As one prepares to confront, in a constructive manner, their
intolerant bosses and peers, one may only expect severe and stubborn opposition
which may be open or discrete. It is easy to lose one’s cool in such
situations. Tolerance of such opposition and trying to conquering it through
discipline and intellect helps the speaking up process.
Insight
In organizations, there is only so much that is open while
tends to be a lot that is unsaid. Those who are in the forefront of the ‘speak
up’ change must possess insights of what works and does not work for the
business. It is this capability for insights, when expressed responsibly and
intellectually, that make people take note.
Novelty
All popular products and services make their mark with their
novelty. The novelty of speech makes even the sceptics and diehards take
notice. Novelty is the signature tone of a tradition-defying speech. A quest
for novelty results in a creative culture and vaccinates organizations against
regimentation.
DICTION as a model
DICTION is an integrated model for responsible, intellectual,
insightful and novel speech that is delivered with courage as well as
tolerance. It is relevant for bosses as well as team members. It has to be
practised as an integrated formula. It is not that always only the bosses need
to be convinced; peers and team members also need to get convinced. DICTION, as
a model, helps change the culture of an organization. One of the important
points to deliver in any organization is to replace legacy systems and
processes such as ‘command and control’ centralized administrative models with
genuinely facilitative decentralized collaborative models.
DICTION as a model is a leadership responsibility. Leaders,
themselves, must practise DICTION as they deal with their boards and investors.
Internally, leaders must move from being monitors and controllers to mentors
and coaches. It would emerge, therefore, that the first and decisive speak-up initiative
must start in the domains of organizational design, organizational behaviour,
and leadership development. The human resources culture verily defines the
overall organizational culture. Freedom to express is not just an individual
need; it vests in the organization the power and energy to grow. DICTION provides the predilection for an
organization to excel over itself, and the competition.
Posted by Dr CB Rao on May 05, 2016
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