Leadership Principles

[油井緋色]

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I'm posting this here because a bunch of you are older and have/had managerial experience. Most of you are also pretty well off or you wouldn't be riding lol

I've been operating under a single principle: "A lead shall show no weakness." This means everyone can ***** to me, but I do not ***** to anyone (except maybe the higher ups once a blue moon.) Primary reasons:

• Team members look up to a lead. Not everyone is a lead. A lead that shows weakness (either through indecisiveness, complaining, even posture) allows the team members to absorb said weakness. This leads to morale loss, which fucks productivity
• Respect is a huge thing. I've been under leads who were very weak mentally, bringing home **** to work, forgetting timelines, not knowing system architecture, etc. and the result is a team in complete disarray
• Bitching often leads to criticizing. I have a strict "do not **** talk about your teammates" policy. **** talk about other departments is fine, just not the immediate team. This is to promote synergy
• Some team members weak (mentally, competently, whatever). They will appear as whiny (the ones that repeatedly ask "stupid questions.") If I give into the frustration and tell them to figure it out themselves, not only have I ****** their morale, I lost the opportunity to gain respect and trust in order to mentor a weaker team member.

My primary motivate is ambition, not empathy. This means being hyper competitive, passing this mentality down to team members, and providing them enough confidence succeed and defeat the competition.

While I am confident in my abilities, I like learning about other perspectives. What other principles/morals/whatever have worked for you guys?

I've read Ray Dailo's principles book but felt he had way too ******* many lol

 

[J_F]

lots of reading to be done on pillars of management
these are the most important IMO

• decision making (many skills in doing this well)
• accountability (you are responsible for the errors of underlings)

get those 2 right and your staff will walk on hot coals for you
fok them up and the knives will be out, particularity #2

 

[GreyGhost]

I think you'd like "Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior" by Marcinko. It's not perfect and in business I disagree with some (like 2), but the essence is a great start.

"

1. I am the War Lord and wrathful God of Combat and I will always lead you from the front, not the rear.
2. I will treat you all alike - just like ****.
3. Thou shalt do nothing I will not do first, and thus you will be created Warriors in My deadly image.
4. I shall punish thy bodies because the more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in combat.
5. Indeed, if thou hurteth in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art Doing It Right
6. Thou hast not to like it - thou hast just to do it.
7. Thou shalt Keep It Simple, Stupid.
8. Thou shalt never assume.
9. Verily, thou art not paid for thy methods, but for thy results, by which meaneth thou shalt kill thine enemy by any means available before he killeth you.
10. Thou shalt in thy Warrior Mind and Soul, always remember My ultimate and final commandment: There Are No Rules - Thou Shalt Win at All Cost."

 

[油井緋色]

lots of reading to be done on pillars of management
these are the most important IMO

• decision making (many skills in doing this well)
• accountability (you are responsible for the errors of underlings)

get those 2 right and your staff will walk on hot coals for you
fok them up and the knives will be out, particularity #2

I'm surprised those two aren't common sense.....lol

 

[油井緋色]

I think you'd like "Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior" by Marcinko. It's not perfect and in business I disagree with some (like 2), but the essence is a great start.

"

1. I am the War Lord and wrathful God of Combat and I will always lead you from the front, not the rear.
2. I will treat you all alike - just like ****.
3. Thou shalt do nothing I will not do first, and thus you will be created Warriors in My deadly image.
4. I shall punish thy bodies because the more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in combat.
5. Indeed, if thou hurteth in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art Doing It Right
6. Thou hast not to like it - thou hast just to do it.
7. Thou shalt Keep It Simple, Stupid.
8. Thou shalt never assume.
9. Verily, thou art not paid for thy methods, but for thy results, by which meaneth thou shalt kill thine enemy by any means available before he killeth you.
10. Thou shalt in thy Warrior Mind and Soul, always remember My ultimate and final commandment: There Are No Rules - Thou Shalt Win at All Cost."

Really thoughtful ****. Ty.

I disagree with #2 and #4, only because I've tried that and realized most people don't operate that way (I do, however), and it kills morale.

 

[J_F]

I'm surprised those two aren't common sense.....lol

due to the Peter Principle being still a reality
I've worked for a few managers terrible at both

of course the results are not good
and they have a problem with staff churn

then b1tch that HR doesn't recruit any good candidates

 

[GreyGhost]

Really thoughtful ****. Ty.

I disagree with #2 and #4, only because I've tried that and realized most people don't operate that way (I do, however), and it kills morale.

You definitely have to be careful with 4 but it can be successfully implemented. Think mock trials in a law office or in your case, internal competition for a valued prize (eg. solve this problem not directly related to our work, the most elegant/fastest solution wins a weekend away on the company dime). These contests step up everyones game so when work related problems arise, you are all in a better place to get to a solution.

 

[J_F]

sad thing is, after awhile in your industry
you can recognize an incompetent manager early on in a new role
quickly adapt to the necessary CYA culture and do just fine

I'm unable to do this
hence the Employment History section of my CV runs 4 pages

 

[Mad Mike]

The initial post would require a book sized response, leadership doesn’t boil down to a handful of principles. It’s also includes a basket of skills. Over the years I have observed skill deficits are typically the root of poor leadership.

If you really want to learn how to lead, volunteer to assist a really good youth coach on a team of 6-8 year olds in a team sport ( soccer, hockey, softball). You will lead a leading a team of 15 players, 3 coaches, and 30 parents.

Then coach one yourself.

 

[油井緋色]

then b1tch that HR doesn't recruit any good candidates

lol

I literally wrote a software development interview template because I realized no one knows wtf they are doing, and it's why we've had a history of hiring incompetent devs.

You definitely have to be careful with 4 but it can be successfully implemented. Think mock trials in a law office or in your case, internal competition for a valued prize (eg. solve this problem not directly related to our work, the most elegant/fastest solution wins a weekend away on the company dime). These contests step up everyones game so when work related problems arise, you are all in a better place to get to a solution.

I need to think more about this. I get why this is important too for respect because you can't be a doormat as a lead; need to challenge your teammates once in a while (and maybe they'll challenge you back lol)

 

[油井緋色]

ost would require a book sized response, leadership doesn’t boil down to a handful of principles.

If you really want to learn how to lead, volunteer to assist a really good youth coach on a team of 6-8 year olds in a team sport ( soccer, hockey, softball). You will lead a leading a team of 15 players, 3 coaches, and 30 parents. Then do it yourself.

Thanks for the suggestion and already did this in school (orchestra section lead, every project [including one that spanned 3 years with a team of 8, we were the only ones to pass this class.])

Also did this outside of school via gaming. Lets not go into that though because I know how some older folk feel about comparing video games with sports lol

 

[GreyGhost]

Thanks for the suggestion and already did this in school (orchestra section lead, every project [including one that spanned 3 years.])

Also did this outside of school via gaming. Lets not go into that though because I know how some older folk feel about comparing video games with sports lol

Instead of calling it gaming, just stick with esports and boomers will think you suck at typing, envision sports in their mind and be able to have a conversation.

 

[J_F]

I need to think more about this. I get why this is important too for respect because you can't be a doormat as a lead; need to challenge your teammates once in a while (and maybe they'll challenge you back lol)

back and forth challenges where the goal is improvement are acceptable, to a point

if you find yourself with a team member where this is a pattern, especially in front of the group
you need to speak with them one on one and correct this very quickly and directly
"knock it off or you're gone" and start documenting the troublesome behaviors
as you are very likely going to need to loop HR in to get rid of them

 

[Mad Mike]

Thanks for the suggestion and already did this in school (orchestra section lead, every project [including one that spanned 3 years with a team of 8, we were the only ones to pass this class.])

Also did this outside of school via gaming. Lets not go into that though because I know how some older folk feel about comparing video games with sports lol

It doesn’t really matter if it’s gaming, music or hockey. In business you are expected to compete, same in team stuff with kids.

The reason I bring up kids team stuff is you have all the parallels of business.

 

[油井緋色]

back and forth challenges where the goal is improvement are acceptable, to a point

if you find yourself with a team member where this is a pattern, especially in front of the group
you need to speak with them one on one and correct this very quickly and directly
"knock it off or you're gone" and start documenting the troublesome behaviors
as you are very likely going to need to loop HR in to get rid of them

I've luckily haven't had this happen with teammates. It's usually someone higher than me actually (I guess I am the pain in the ass then lol.)

I get what you're saying: challenge out of respect is good. Challenge for the sake of making someone look stupid is not.

 

[J_F]

I've luckily haven't had this happen with teammates. It's usually someone higher than me actually (I guess I am the pain in the ass then lol.)

I get what you're saying: challenge out of respect is good. Challenge for the sake of making someone look stupid is not.

one more little tip, then I'm heading out for the day

if you need to start documenting performance issues
discussing attitude is useless - cannot be actioned to terminate

need to document negative behaviours, specifics
what happened, the affect to the business
and quantify a cost to the Co: money, production loss, duplication of effort etc

 

[Ash]

Your response to failure sets the tone for the entire morale of the team. If you respond to failure with anger, swearing or blame, you've set a pattern where people will be afraid to tell you when their objectives are unreachable and when things are going off the rails. They will go into a project death spiral when things get bad because they can't admit to you that things are going wrong, and/or they'll come up with excuses why it's not their fault. Neither of these things is helpful.

As a superficial example, watch Season 2 of Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Mercedes has a "no-blame" culture, and has been dominating the series for years. Every failure for them is an opportunity to examine themselves and improve. That doesn't make it pleasant. Failure still sucks, but your reaction to it sets the tone of whether you strengthen or weaken the team. The other mid-pack teams clearly exert a ton of implicit and explicit pressure on everyone to perform, and the undercurrent is that if you screw up - you're out. And they're suffering for it.

You only get one or two chances to set this tone with your team. If you lie, manipulate them, or even put a happy face on a ****** situation they will see right through it and your credibility is shot. To put it into a principle, it is your genuine responsibility to protect the health of the team. And that doesn't mean being blind to faults - it might mean moving some people into different roles, or out of the company entirely. It just means asking "how can we learn and improve ourselves from this experience?" instead of passing the blame around. If one person IS to blame, investigate what factors caused them to act that way - it might be YOUR fault for not being clear enough, giving them something outside of their capabilities, etc.

And protecting the health of the team is how I phrase it, because it's also your responsibility to set that tone upwards into the management chain. You must be willing to stand and push back on unreasonable requirements, impossible deadlines and tantrums from upper management, otherwise you're right back into the project death spirals again.

 

[Dirty Frank]

Start here The Art of War

 

[油井緋色]

Your response to failure sets the tone for the entire morale of the team. If you respond to failure with anger, swearing or blame, you've set a pattern where people will be afraid to tell you when their objectives are unreachable and when things are going off the rails. They will go into a project death spiral when things get bad because they can't admit to you that things are going wrong, and/or they'll come up with excuses why it's not their fault. Neither of these things is helpful.

As a superficial example, watch Season 2 of Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Mercedes has a "no-blame" culture, and has been dominating the series for years. Every failure for them is an opportunity to examine themselves and improve. That doesn't make it pleasant. Failure still sucks, but your reaction to it sets the tone of whether you strengthen or weaken the team. The other mid-pack teams clearly exert a ton of implicit and explicit pressure on everyone to perform, and the undercurrent is that if you screw up - you're out. And they're suffering for it.

You only get one or two chances to set this tone with your team. If you lie, manipulate them, or even put a happy face on a ****** situation they will see right through it and your credibility is shot. To put it into a principle, it is your genuine responsibility to protect the health of the team. And that doesn't mean being blind to faults - it might mean moving some people into different roles, or out of the company entirely. It just means asking "how can we learn and improve ourselves from this experience?" instead of passing the blame around. If one person IS to blame, investigate what factors caused them to act that way - it might be YOUR fault for not being clear enough, giving them something outside of their capabilities, etc.

And protecting the health of the team is how I phrase it, because it's also your responsibility to set that tone upwards into the management chain. You must be willing to stand and push back on unreasonable requirements, impossible deadlines and tantrums from upper management, otherwise you're right back into the project death spirals again.

I really like this. Thank you.

I thought this was common sense as well but many leads I've met have shown me otherwise. The way you've written it helps me put the "feeling" into words; I may use this in meetings later and will say I found it online on a motorcycle forum lol

 

[ToSlow]

Integrity and Character When you get those two to balance then you will be on the right road,

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