Why do people follow me?

“There’s no one in this room who wouldn’t rather die than let you down”

Now I would love to take credit for that quote, but it’s one of Aaron Sorkin’s last before he relinquished the reins of the West Wing. It is, however, a moving one when you consider the context of members of the fictional President Bartlett’s inner circle pledging the allegiance at the height of a political and personal drama.

As a leader I think that is what we all would want to aspire to, having people that want to do everything they can to support us. Not a squadron of sycophants, or a battalion of mindless robots, but a group of people that are wanting to work to achieve the same purpose. A group that is inspired and empowered to bring about change and deliver meaningful results. Whether that be in business, the military or in local, state, and federal government, we want to have people that work for us that are loyal because they are on board with what we are trying to achieve.

I am a public servant; I will rabbit on regularly to those that work for me about what we are trying to deliver and how we are delivering it. Over the years I have witnessed people that work in public service because they like the conditions, or because it allows them flexibility. I have also worked with so many more who are in public service because they like the idea of serving their country and delivering something that they are very passionate about.

Building a team that can deliver is challenging, for several reasons, but mostly because people are human; they are fallible, and they will sometimes look for ways to minimize their own work. But they don’t always realize that in trying to make things easier for themselves they are affecting our “mission”.

An example: If you had a room of 100 public servants and asked them if they thought the public service was inefficient, you would get between 90 to 100 hands in the air. But then ask, how many people in the room think that they contribute to that inefficiency, then you might get 20 to 30 hands (at most) in the air.

The first step is realizing and acknowledging that we all do something that adds to inefficiency. We go for too many coffees during the day, or we end up getting caught up on a particular piece of work instead of just finishing it. Some people, myself included, can acknowledge that we aren’t focused on our tasks 24/7. We need other people to help pull us back to focus, whether that be our superiors, our peers, or our even staff (my people know that they are empowered to pull me up if I’m going down a rabbit hole unnecessarily).

If you work for me, on the first day you will get to hear my three rules:

1. We treat everyone with respect. This is not just a requirement of the public service, but it’s the basic element of being a human being.
2. If you make a mistake, let me know as soon as you can. I can’t help you fix it, and I can’t give you cover if I don’t know about it.
3. Everybody works. This one relates back to rule number one because if you aren’t working, and you’re expecting your colleagues to carry you, you aren’t respecting them.

Now a lot of great bosses I’ve had in the past had similar rules. Rule 1 and 2 are often easy to keep going, but where people fall is going to rule number 3. When people aren’t working, this isn’t always addressed by their manager or leader. Now in the military sense it is always very direct, if you don’t pull your weight, people will die. In other lines of work, it’s not that black and white. People struggle to understand how their own actions can affect others unless it’s pointed out to them. I’ve worked with some great people who wanted to do great work but were not supporting the work of their team and weren’t aware of the impact they were having. They weren’t lazy, they genuinely wanted to do a good job, but they had never had someone point out that what they were doing wasn’t efficient.

It gets further compounded because people shy away from having the difficult conversations. It is human nature to avoid conflict. The fight or flight reflex in humans tends overwhelmingly towards the flight part. When we do have bosses that address issues, sometimes they think the best way to achieve an outcome is to belittle people. When a quiet conversation about how a person is working, and what they are doing isn’t delivering the best. Find out why, find out if there is stuff at home, find out if they’ve really had their job explained to them (this happens a lot more than you think), and find a way to get them back on track.

Look it’s not always smooth sailing, in fact just this week I had a staff member that I’d struggled with finally leave to go to another job. When I went to say goodbye, they told me that they have never liked working for me and wouldn’t miss being in my team. That stings a bit, but it shows that both them and I have some ways to go to perfect our performance. I had challenged them on a few pieces of their work, and it was apparent that our approaches to work were different. I do genuinely hope that they find happiness in their new workplace.

Instead I like to reflect on my success stories. I had an underperformer that had been pushed from various areas before they landed in my team. I worked with them, got them some meaningful training (all too often under performers seem to get put on a communications course, I don’t even know what that means). When we talked about where they saw themselves it was obvious, they had some genuine passion, so I harnessed and directed that passion. They went on to have a very successful career.

I have had a few staff give me cards when they have left my team. I’m a bit of a sook so when I read nice things written about me, I will tear up. A personal favorite sits on my desk and says:

I know I’ve told you this already a million times but – it’s been a pleasure to work for you. Thank you for being as supportive as you have always been, for encouraging me always, and for the million and one opportunities. I have never worked for anyone who has advocated for me in the way that you have advocated for me. I’ve learnt a lot from the way you manage people, make decisions, and exercise good judgement in an often challenging and frustrating environment, whilst still making your staff feel supported and taken care of.

As an aside, can I just mention the overwhelming power of a handwritten card.

I have worked for some great bosses in my career and I’ve worked for some bad ones (really really bad ones). I learnt from both types. The good ones I try to model and the bad ones I try to make sure I never repeat their behaviors. I think at the end of the day, if you haven’t been exposed to both you won’t understand how your leadership can affect others.

I can only hope that one day someone talks about me as a good boss that shaped their career.