When A Leader Gets Stuck Below The Line

As you know, we all fall Below The Line in our behavior from time to time—on an issue, task, relationship, project, or key result—sometimes more often than we’re willing to admit. It’s not wrong to fall Below The Line; it’s human nature. However, it is completely ineffective to stay there. One individual stuck Below The Line can negatively impact the performance of an entire team or organization. Moreover, if the leader of a team or organization gets stuck Below The Line, the negative consequences can be devastating and long lasting.

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 candid communication, risk-taking, critical thinking, and creative problem solving that would be required to change the company’s culture. 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—even entrenched. If you are the leader of a team or organization and want to Change the Culture, Change the Game in your company and industry, make sure you keep your attitude Above The Line, modeling the specific changes you want to see in your direct reports and people throughout the organization. Culture changes one person at a time, so begin with you.

To learn more about Organizational Culture Change, go to www.partnersinleadership.com.

Above The Line and Below The Line are registered trademarks of Partners In Leadership Inc.