It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with concepts of leadership here, but I think a refresher is due.
Whether you’re a freelancer working on your own, leading a freelancer group, work for someone else, and/or a leader in whatever job you do you are going to have to deal with leadership. You’ll either have to deal with it as a follower or as the leader yourself, and sometimes dealing with other leaders. With this in mind there are somethings that apply to everyone involved and some only apply to leaders interacting with each other.
First, let’s look at the things that apply to everyone involved. These factors help make things run smoothly and helps maintain positive relations with everyone involved. These are that individuals no matter their rank/status with your team or group treat each other with respect, hold each other to a similar standard, and “play” by the rules within morally acceptable lines.
Now we move on to leadership itself. Ideally, leaders will hold themselves to a higher standard than their subordinates. They will also realize that their purpose is to help their subordinates achieve a goal and should attempt to assist them in doing so as much as possible. This can include taking heat from higher ups, acquiring or approving the acquisition of necessary resources, assisting in a particularly difficult task they have experience in, and anything that boosts morale or helps pave the way for their success.
While the interaction with the team or group that the leader is in charge of is the extremely important, it is obviously not the end all be all for leadership. The leader has to deal with other teams’ leaders and his/her own bosses. This can include vouching for a subordinate or generally protecting the effectiveness of the team they leader. Sometimes leaders and teams will be used as a representative to other groups. And this comes with certain expectations.
You should not send a weak leader to represent you in any respect, unless that’s all you have then you have larger problems to deal with. As a leader or representative you should be polite with whomever you encounter, because being a jerk only hurts your cause. This doesn’t mean don’t be firm and don’t make tough decisions, it means as much as it is on you try not to be insulting and keep your temper in check. Doing so will endear you to the subordinates of bosses and leaders who are jerks and they may advocate for you. It’s also just a decent practice.
Now we’re going to deal with rank. If someone is a lower ranking status than you greet them politely, reinforce good behavior with complements, shake hands, and listen. If an underling has been sent to fetch you it’s a power play to show the status of the individual requesting your presence, they’re trying to assert dominance, the one sent is merely a pawn and may have no other choice in the matter.
If the individual is the same rank as you, be polite, treat them as an equal, handshake, etc. Do not show them deference, or try to kiss up and act like they outrank you. Acting like they out rank you starts you off in a position of weakness, especially if you know for certain they are the same rank as you. If you don’t know the rank of someone, still be polite and clarify why you’re there. “I’m here for a meet with X at Y time, are you them?” is a decent way to not insult someone by assuming they are inferior in rank. Leaders come in all shapes sizes and genders, so it’s better to err on the side of caution if you’ve had no time or opportunity to research whom you’re meeting.
Now comes the tricky part, dealing with someone who outranks you or is supposed to appear to outrank you. If you’re the one being sent to fetch a higher up, be polite and show deference without being a yes-man/woman/lapdog. You’re being sent as a servant but you still represent your group, company, etc. This is if you want to be “buddy buddy” with the individual. If you’re being sent in to negotiate or otherwise deal with someone you need to show respect (unless they have trashed this aspect, then show them cool restraint) but you should not show deference beyond being polite. If you need to dominate, do so in a respectful manner as if they were lower rank than you, and insist tat they show respect for your rank if they try not to.
There’s an interesting story from the American War for Independence that fits in with this mentality. A representative of the British Armed Forces was sent to George Washington with a letter for negotiations. Washington was the newly appointed General of the Continental Army at the time so a strong show of leadership and a demand for respect was necessary. The Representative (I forget if they went through a couple, getting higher and higher in rank, I think they did) brought a letter addressed to Mr. Washington, not General Washington, Mr. Washington. Washington didn’t even touch the letter let alone read it until, after a set of aggrandizing title improvements, it was addressed to him with his proper rank. The reason was that if they did not negotiate with respect, negotiations would breakdown quickly and waste everyone’s time. Without respect it would just be a set of demands without the possibility of compromise.
Dealing with leadership is a necessary skill in business and negotiations because you will eventually have to encounter it, especially if you run your own business. Cultivate the skills now before you need them.
Think about it.
Sincerely,
The Irreverent Gentleman
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