The worst thing I’ve ever been accused of, one that stings to this day is, ‘You say a lot of nice things, but don’t have much to show for it’. It happened once, and it was said to me by a boss who was already the bane of my existence at the time. I tell people he was the worst, and the best boss I ever had.
Let’s call him Joe. Joe was brutal, he was practical, and he was brilliant. His leadership and execution style conflicted with mine from the first day we met. After my interview with him, I came home and told my Wife that i didn’t think I’d get the job. He had questioned everything I said, and I had politely disagreed with nearly everything he said. He still offered me the job, and our tumultuous working relationship would ensue.
We would part ways barely two years later, a decision that we agreed was good for both of us. As they say, there are two sides to every story, and since this is my blog, you will only get to hear my side.
For years it worked, until I met Joe.
Time and experience has shown me where I thrive. The kind of tasks and roles where my energy shines, my mind is stretched and I achieve flow. I learned quite early in my career that my success would not be found in my academic papers (unless I went into academia or research of course), or how well packaged my CV looked, or how aggressively I job hunted. My success would be found in what I delivered on the last assignment. My Mantra became, ‘Make them Miss You when you are Gone’.
Things were going great, until I met Joe.
Joe was a master at goal shifting. No sooner would I have found my footing on the last assignment, than he would come with a new brief and deprioritise the current task. I changed roles thrice in my first year due to shifting business priorities, and the painful truth was that after 1 year on the Job, I had very little to show for my time there. So when Joe came at me with the accusation above, I had very shaky ground to stand on. And you never, ever counter-accuse your boss, unless it’s before an appeal panel. And even then, your goose is still cooked because that relationship dies. And in 99.99% of the cases, your boss is more valuable to the company than you are, so you really are just fighting a losing battle.
So I took it to the chin. We continued the dance for a few more months, but I knew my fate was sealed. This post hower is not about how I was unfairly treated, it’s about what I learned, or re-learned from the experience.
Joe operated on three Principles;
- Be Precise in your Speech – Joe suffered no small talk. He had little patience for it. Everything he said was intentional and efficient, and if you missed it, he didn’t repeat himself. Woe unto you if you acted in contradiction with what he had said.
- Address the Foundations – He didn’t waste time on minutae. He went straight for the core of whatever issue we had, and once he was confident the root was addressed, he expected you to handle the rest.
- Focus on Outcomes – Joe would be livid if you came to him with anything more than a couple of powerpoint slides. He lived on Google Sheets (Excel), and could unpack a multi-million dollar strategy on one Excel sheet. He was a ‘So What’ guy. Everything else he called Story Telling.
Like I said, Joe and I fundamentally disagreed on many things, but on the three above, I couldn’t fault him. He has a brilliant career behind him to prove that while his approach is brutal for his subordinates, it works. I don’t believe in leaving my Empathy at the door when I go into Work, I am big on Coaching people as a Leader, and I embrace Diversity of styles and views in my teams. This not only aligns well with my Christian faith, but my career track record proves you can care for People and still deliver results.
Ultimately, whether you are Joe, or Alex, the thing that matters most at the end of the day is RESULTS. If you can Show the Results of your approach, you will be Valuable to your Sponsors.
