Get Stuck Leaders Above The Line

We all fall Below The Line—on issues, tasks, projects, Key Results or even in relationships—usually more often than we’re willing to admit. No, it’s not wrong to fall Below The Line; it’s human nature. However, it is also totally and completely ineffective to stay there. One individual stuck Below The Line can negatively impact the performance of an entire team. One leader stuck Below The Line can negatively impact the performance of an entire organization for years.

We recently worked with the CEO of a midsized financial services company who allowed himself to get stuck Below The Line in the middle of a culture change effort. At the very time he was asking his direct reports to take greater ownership for developing innovative solutions and achieving new levels of results, he was amplifying his highly directive, often dictatorial, management style. The obvious contradiction seemed apparent to everyone but him despite repeated attempts at counseling and coaching. Not surprisingly, the culture change effort languished until the CEO finally recognized and corrected his Below The Line attitude and behavior. Even then it took months before the CEO’s direct reports began to cautiously emerge from their “command and control” response stations to embrace the risk-taking, critical thinking, candid communication, and creative problem solving that was required to change the company’s culture and future. Today the company is making slow, but steady progress.

Getting stuck Below The Line produces only one outcome: undesirable results. When a leader gets stuck Below The Line, the breadth and depth of those undesirable results become magnified and even entrenched. If you are the leader of a team or organization and want to “Change the Culture” and “Change the Game” in your company and industry, make sure you stay Above The Line and model the specific changes you want to see in your direct reports and everyone else in the organization. Culture changes one person and one team at a time—so begin with yourself and your team. To learn more about how to not be stuck Below The Line and help others get Above The Line, join our Accountability Community at www.partnersinleadership.com.

Below The Line, Above The Line, and Accountability Community are all registered trademarks of Partners In Leadership.