talent management
believes that their unique needs are not being understood and
fought for. This can also lead to unnecessary bureaucracy and red-tape
because managers require too many meetings, consultations
and approvals before they give their team the freedom they need to
get things done in an effective way.
THERE’S HOPE
The bad news is that these three tensions – control versus empow-erment,
being a boss versus being a friend and part versus whole
– are unsolvable and unavoidable. Similar to the tension found
in breathing between inhaling and exhaling, it is just a part of
life. Believing that one side of any of these three tensions can be
chosen (i.e. choosing to only be a boss, or to only focus on empow-erment
or to simply be team-focused) is as futile as waking up in
the morning and deciding that today you’re only going to inhale;
it won’t work.
The good news is that these tensions can be managed and even
leveraged. There are three easy steps that every new manager
can take to ensure these tensions are working for them and not
against them.
STEP ONE – IDENTIFY
When a new manager can identify and name the key tensions that
they are already feeling and potentially wrestling with, they expe-rience
a huge amount of relief. It becomes clear that they are not
dealing with this tension because they are doing something wrong
or because they don’t have the skills to succeed. Instead, the oppo-site
is true. These are foundational tensions to effective leadership
and the more they can get used to them, and even comfortable
with them, the more they will have the wisdom and resilience they
need to thrive.
STEP TWO - ASSESS
New managers should constantly be checking in with the health
of these tensions. How close do they resemble the metaphor of
breathing, where the tension between inhaling and exhaling hap-pens
in a healthy and almost effortless way? This assessment can
be done through on-going personal reflection and by deliberate
conversations with both supervisors and team members.
STEP THREE – LEVERAGE
Leveraging something means to take advantage of it. The energy
that comes from these three tensions is something that new
managers can tap into in a powerful way. This comes from seek-ing
out conversations with team members and colleagues who
have a different point of view than your own, fostering a team
culture that embraces tension and diverse opinions instead of
avoiding them and decision making based on the whole truth as
opposed to just part of the truth that’s aligned with personal bias
or point of view.
TENSION AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Unfortunately, the careers of high-potential emerging leaders often
fail to launch because they are not able to recognize and manage
three unavoidable tensions. This results in new managers giving
up and giving in, and companies failing to have the leadership they
need to scale and win. It doesn’t have to be this way.
In his groundbreaking book, Good to Great, Jim Collins found
that leaders who were truly great, and organizations who out-performed
their competition decade after decade, did not accept
“The Tyranny of the OR but instead embraced The Genius of the
AND.” This means that instead of avoiding these key leadership
tensions, great managers need to embrace the power of control
and empowerment, being a boss and being a friend and focusing
on part and whole. Leaders who achieve healthy tension between
these conflicting values outperform those who don’t and possess a
competitive advantage that is rare and powerful. n
Tim Arnold is the president of Leaders for Leaders and author of
The Power of Healthy Tension.
Striking a balance
between boss and
friend can be difficult
for new managers
racorn / 123RF
38 ❚ NOVEMBER 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL
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