Use a SCALPEL to Cut Out Bad Leadership

I recently had a discussion with a co-worker about bad leadership in police organizations.  The talk was centered around the behavior of a specific individual.  Examples of this individual’s poor leadership behavior were given, one after another.  Other than venting a little peer to peer frustration, it was a rather unproductive conversation.  As I thought about the conversation my mind went towards the emotional intelligence competency of self-awareness.  I’m confident the person we were discussing has no idea he (or she) is viewed by many as a bad leader.  To the contrary, I have heard this person, on many occasions, tell stories of great prowess as a police officer and a leader.  I have often wondered how such a leader could be so unaware that they are viewed, at least by some, as a bad leader.  I then had a frightening thought, what if somewhere there are two people having a similar discussion about a bad leader in our organization…and that person is me!

It is easy to look at someone else, make judgments, and think, “What a clown, how could they not know how bad they are?”  It is much harder to look in the mirror and conduct an accurate self-assessment to discover if we are the ones wearing the comically large shoes, face makeup, and round red nose.  Why? Because we all have an ego and we all want to be seen as the “good guy” in every situation.  What if you are not?  What if you are the clown that others discuss over coffee or in hushed hallway conversations? 

Being the nerd that I am (I actually prefer the term “Pracademic” – a practicing academic) I dusted off a few books on my shelves and went into my database of academic articles on leadership.  I’ve been told I have a good ability to take academic research and distil it down into simple terms or useful models (but hey, maybe that’s my ego talking). My two primary sources of inspiration for this article come from Barbara Kellerman’s work on bad leadership and a research paper written by Joseph A. Schafer in 2010.  Dr. Schafer used survey data from 304 law enforcement attendees at the FBI National Academy to identify ineffective police leadership and has since written a book on the topic.  Dr. Kellerman has written books on bad leadership, followership, and women in leadership.  For my fellow nerds, you can find links to their work at the end of this article. 

Kellerman’s research goes further into the unethical aspects of leadership, but I would like to focus on those behaviors that any of us might unconsciously engage in and not realize we are seen as bad leaders to others.  I believe behavior that is corrupt or unlawful is clearly and universally defined as bad leadership.  I am looking at those behaviors that could possibly be seen as in the gray area.

The S.C.A.L.P.E.L. Model to Identify Bad Leadership 

A surgeon uses a scalpel to remove infected, diseased, unwanted, or dead tissue from our bodies. The scalpel is sharp and cuts, it can cause great pain, if used in unskilled hands.  In skilled hands the scalpel can still be painful, but this pain is the beginning of a process that can bring healing and repair.  I am using the scalpel as a metaphor and a tool to diagnose if you or someone else is a bad (infected, diseased, unwanted) leader. The S.C.A.L.P.E.L. model is an acronym used to identify eight primary behaviors/characteristics of bad  leaders. These behaviors are:

S(elfish) C(losed minded) A(ctionless) L(ack of soft skills) P(oor work ethic) L(ack of integrity) E(go)

Selfish

 While a good leader tries to balance the needs of the organization with the needs of his followers, the bad leader puts his needs ahead of everyone.  This leader is focused on the next promotion, status symbol, or pay raise.  Followers are seen as a way to achieve that next promotion. The leader is clearly dialed into the radio station Wii FM, “What’s in it For Me?” Decisions are made through the lens of how the leader will look to his boss rather than what is best for the organization.  Those who work for this leader quickly pick up on this self-advancement type of behavior and often resort to giving less than their best efforts.  After all, why work so hard when the boss only cares about himself, right?

Closed-minded

Good leaders are learners. Bad leaders think they know it all. The closed-minded leader is often seen as a micromanager (for more on the micromanager check out my previous blog post, HERE) because they want everything done one way, their way.  This type of behavior is displayed when the leader is unwilling to hear feedback or does not respond to concerns expressed by others.  When followers feel their concerns are not heard or brushed aside, they become dissatisfied, unmotivated, and resentful.  

Actionless

Leaders must make decisions. Making decision involves action.  Bad leaders do not make decisions. They don’t act, they don’t make decisions because they are afraid.   This fear takes several forms.  Here are three examples of fear of making a decision.  #1leader is afraid to make a decision that will make them look incompetent. In other words, they don’t know what to do so they end up doing nothing. #2 The leader is afraid to make a decision that could harm their own career path.  They know they should stand up to their own boss and stick up for their team but doing so could result in some negative repercussion for their career.  #3 The leader is afraid to make an unpopular decision. The leader wants to be friends with everyone and doesn’t want to come across as the “bad guy.”  Making an unpopular decision could lead to confrontational conversations, hurt feelings, and angry subordinates. 

Good leaders make decisions to their best of their abilities. Sometimes they include their followers in the process, sometimes they do not.  They realize the more decisions they make the more likely they will make a wrong decision.  When they make a bad decision, they own it, learn from it, and move on.  Good leaders have a bias towards action and this bias is reflected in their daily behaviors.

Lack of Soft Skills

Soft skills are the abilities to communicate and work well with others.  Technical expertise gets you in the door.  Your expertise in your area of specialization, to include formal education, training classes, and certifications are examples of technical expertise.  Without your technical skills you, most likely, would not have been hired.  These open the door and allow you to enter the organization.  Soft skills allow you to ride the promotion elevator up.  The higher you want to go the more important it is to have soft skills.  These are interpersonal skills such as being a good listener, displaying empathy, understanding different personality styles, and caring about people.  For a leader, soft skills are what defines the relationship with her followers. 

Bad leaders typically show a lack of ability in the above areas.  They lack empathy, do not listen well, and do not make any effort to get to know their followers.  A good leader knows the people who work for and with her.  She knows their career goals, strengths, and weaknesses at work but she also knows a little about their hobbies, family life, and interests outside of the office.   The bad news is bad leaders often lack soft skills. The good news is these are skills, and can be developed with practice. 

Poor Work Ethic

The first rule of leadership is to show up.  You must be present, physically and mentally to lead others.  Part of a leader’s job is to motivate others.  One of the most effective ways of doing this is to lead by example.  Showing up early (or at least on time), being productive, following the rules, and showing commitment to the organization are all indicators of a good work ethic.

Bad leaders operate from a “Do what I say, not what I do” type of mentality.  While preaching about integrity, giving 100%, and transparency, bad leaders often sneak in late, cite executive privilege, and are anything but transparent when it comes to their own behavior.   What they tend not to realize is the people they lead are not dumb.  They notice when their leader comes in late.  They notice when their leader is self-centered and career driven rather than focused on helping their followers succeed.  They also notice and judge every time the leader says one thing and does another. 

Lack of Integrity

 This behavior usually is displayed when the leader adopts a “Do what I say, not what I do” attitude. It often shows up in the little behaviors such as work hours.  The leader sometimes comes in late or leaves early, but holds her followers accountable if they are even a minute late.  A leader who asks her team to come in a work through a project on the weekend but cannot attend herself because she has family commitments.  Sometimes lack of integrity is seen when the leader does not give full credit to her team or direct-reports for an accomplishment.  This type of behavior erodes trust and takes away the leader’s power to ethically influence. 

Ego

 Ego generally has to do with a sense of self-worth or self-esteem.  Everyone has an ego.  After all a certain level of self-worth, it is necessary for achieving any formal leadership position. The problem arises when ego gets out of control. When a leader’s ego outpaces their competence, we have a problem.  This shows up in overconfidence in decision-making. The leader is rarely open to dialogue or feedback that does not support their own point of view.  I’ve heard high-level leaders tell subordinates, “That’s just stupid, anyone who would suggest that is stupid.” 

Unhealthy ego also can be heard in the amount of storytelling a leader doe, the pronouns she uses, and the number of times a leader interrupts someone else who is speaking.  “Back when I did your job…”,  “Let me tell you how I handled a situation that was much worse…”, and “I don’t mean to interrupt, but let me tell you about the time I…” are all indicators of an unhealthy ego.

  Good leaders also tell stories, they just don’t tell so many self-centered stories. Good leaders are other-focused and use more pronouns such as we, he, she, and they.  Good leaders possess humility, are good listeners, and are not afraid to admit when they don’t know something.

Self-Surgery 

While medical self-surgery is usually reserved for rare, life and death situations where no other options exist, I would encourage you to use the S.C.A.L.P.E.L. model on yourself.   Take a look in the mirror.  Would any of the S.C.A.L.P.E.L. categories describe you? If you are really brave, you might even ask others (coworkers, followers, your boss) to look at the S.C.A.L.P.E.L. areas and rate you.  Fair warning, I told you a Scalpel hurts!

If you have read this far and are remotely open to the idea of a self-assessment using the S.C.A.L.P.E.L. model, I applaud you.   Congratulations, you have a higher level of self-awareness and your ego is probably at a healthy level. You are open to the idea of further development as a leader.  Unfortunately, the bad leaders stopped reading after the first paragraph.  They will continue to be the clowns of their organizations and will never know it. 

 Thanks for reading.  If you are interested in reading more of my thoughts on leadership, please check out my blog at www.edwardpallas.com/blog. To stay current on all my free content and future projects sign up for my email list and download your free copy of my report, The 7 Mistakes Most Leaders Make. 

Remember, soft skills lead to hard results!

Ed

Links to Dr. Kellerman and Dr. Schafer’s articles.

Schafer:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joseph_Schafer2/publication/223367386_The_ineffective_police_leader_Acts_of_commission_and_omission/links/5b4e1392a6fdcc8dae279079/The-ineffective-police-leader-Acts-of-commission-and-omission.pdf

Kellerman:

http://provenleader.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/9/1/13914688/fsoechting_lead510_finaldraft--book_review.pdf