Leading Your Team To Look Stupid Makes For A Bad Leader
It was clear that the cruise ship I was on was not going to Cozumel last week. (That Swine Flu Thing)
How did I know?
- Could it be that we left Key West at 1:00 and at 4:00 the sun was behind the ship rather than above it or in front of it?
- Could it be that the little ship positioning arrow on the TV Channel in my cabin was somewhere off the east coast of Florida rather than somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico?
So I did what every Smart Alec would do; I walked over to the Information Desk and shared my information with them. I commented that it is clear we are not going to Cozumel and asked where we were going. To which the young man answered me that no information has been released yet and the captain had not yet made the determination if we were or were not going to Mexico.
Okay, let’s get real here. First of all, I highly doubt that decision was the Captain’s decision, but that of the top leaders at Carnival Cruise Lines. Second, you and I both know we are not going to Mexico even with evidence and you still deny it, because that is what you’re supposed to do – not break the chain of command and say something that you are not authorized to say.
So instead of breaking the chain of command, the Captain and the top leaders make you look misinformed and get you frustrated. I just don’t get it. Leaders need to realize that your front line is frustrated with the slowness or lack of information – especially when the information is clear to your customer.
Was this really a top secret decision? Okay, maybe the leaders didn’t know where we were going, but they knew we were not going to Mexico; and a lot the passengers knew it too. (Now of course there were the one or two crazies that were wiling to risk going to Mexico.) So instead of disseminating this information, any information, you leave the customer in suspense and your front line looking clueless.
Attention leaders!!!! Your team really does want to support you and do a good job. But sometimes you have to do a better job than you’re doing. Holding information is not power. Information is only power when everyone receives it. Everyone.
