One team leader in particular expressed his sheer frustration at his inability to break through the language and cultural gap. He said that he felt discouraged because his front line Hispanic team members didn’t treat him with the respect he deserved.
When he was asked to relate some of the main aspects of his everyday workplace activities and to describe how he interacts with his non-English speaking Hispanic team members, he gave a truly memorable answer.
Leadership by Building Friendships
He proudly admitted that he "worked alongside the Hispanic employees.” "When they dig trenches, I’m right there with them. They know that I can work just as hard as they do.”
As he continued to share his experience, it became obvious that he felt disappointed. He hesitantly admitted that “in spite of all my efforts, I know they sometimes joke about me in Spanish. Some of my team members don’t even know my name.”
The brutal honesty of this young man drove home a point that most English speaking managers and team leaders in the group had felt and experienced. After hearing his particular challenge which resulted in intense group discussions, everyone agreed that although this team leader's heart was in the right place, the process he was following was not conducive to effectively managing or leading his team members.
It’s certainly admirable that this supervisor wanted to bond with his team members. It’s definitely a good idea to always work on gaining the employees’ trust. However, by offering himself as “one of the boys,” he gave up whatever authority his job title carried.
On the way to becoming a friend to his crew, he lost the ability to lead them. In fact, it wasn’t long before some of his team members were actually telling this supervisor what to do.
A Leader is Not a Buddy
For the participants in the workshop, this was a stark example of a leadership process gone wrong. The root of the problem was that this supervisor felt inadequate in not being able to communicate in Spanish with the employees. In order to gain their buy-in, he overcompensated by becoming their good friend and “buddy” and by working with them in the trenches. Unfortunately, this does not mix well. You are either a leader or team member, but certainly not both!
What can managers learn from this example?
Trust is not created by being a buddy to team members. Leaders need to maintain a ‘professional distance’ that distinguishes them from the rest of the crew.
The team members expect their leaders to be decisive and deliberate in their actions. This means that leaders must understand that there is a fine balance between earning the respect of the employees while taking an active interest in their growth and development.
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