what the…?Insight into the prickly emotions leaders can cause.

Melanie Cook. July 2014. twitter: @constant_garden. Linked in: sg.linkedin.com/in/melaniecook2/

Based on a survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit and Melanie Cook in APAC.

We’ve all had them, those “what the beeeep?” moments when something inexplicable happens at work. They leave you baffled and feeling like you just didn’t see it coming. But they don’t have to exist if people in the workplace better understand each other, particularly leaders and followers.

Let’s take the following for example…

What leaders hear

I hate to do this, but I quit. It’s not you, it’s me.I have a new opportunity thatI can’t pass up.

But why? You have an amazing opporutnityhere. I had you peggedto take my place.You never said youwere unhappy.

The star employee of the organization

The leader of that organization

What is really being said

0%#

10%#

20%#

30%#

40%#

50%#

60%#

70%#

80%#

90%#

100%#

1# 2# 3# 4# 5# 6# 7# 8# 9# 10#Leader&ra'ng&(1&=&poor&and&10&=&excellent)&

How&followers&rate&their&leader&by&likelihood&to&leave&

Very#unlikely#to#leave#

Very#likely##to#leave#

It is you not me, I just don’t have

the permission to tell you

What the star is really thinking

Followership survey, Asia Pacific. Melanie Cook & The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2014. n= 500

What followers want

Followership survey, Asia Pacific. Melanie Cook & The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2014. n= 500

This word cloud shows what followers want from their leaders. They want an expert leader who supports and coaches them. But when the chips are down, they

want a leader to take control and fix the problem.

Opportunity to shine

Followership survey, Asia Pacific. Melanie Cook & The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2014. n= 500

This word cloud shows the situations where leaders have an opportunity to

shine. The two key situations are when a follower makes a mistake or comes

up against a problem they cannot solve on their own.

When handled right…

When leaders coach and support followers through a mistake the follower has made and through

insurmountable problems, followers feel positive and

appreciative of the leader. They see this as a learning opportunity.

Followership survey, Asia Pacific. Melanie Cook & The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2014. n= 500

Key moments of disenchantment

Here you see the situations with the most potential to cause a follower’s disenchantment of their

leader. Day-to-day management is complex in Asia Pacific and many followers often think their

boss is getting the day-to-day stuff wrong. Added to this, performance assessment is also on this

list. This indicates that followers feel misunderstood by their leaders.

Followership survey, Asia Pacific. Melanie Cook & The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2014. n= 500

Detrimental leader behavior

In day-to-day management and at performance reviews, for example, if

followers feel leaders are not empathetic nor consultative it has a highly negative

emotional impact. This is also true if a leader publicly reprimands a follower

creating a loss of face.

Followership survey, Asia Pacific. Melanie Cook & The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2014. n= 500

Negative emotional impact on followers

If followers feel that a leader doesn’t empathize or consult

them on the solution, the negative impact is high. This is

seen in this word cloud.

Followership survey, Asia Pacific. Melanie Cook & The Economist Intelligence Unit. 2014. n= 500

What can be done?

My talk will look at the top 10 situations that cause a negative or positive impact on

followers. It will explain what is really happening in these situations by revealing the untold emotions at play. Using the Situational

Leadership theory, it will show how to identify the best leadership style for a particular situation,

helping the leader to be more effective.

Situational leadership theory, modified by Melanie Cook. Evolved from the Lifecycle Theory of Leadership by Paul Hersey & Ken Blanchard.

Making the work-place a happy one

With this insight and understanding of what to do, leaders are less likely to be surprised by

those “What the beeeep?” moments and followers will feel better understood.

Melanie Cook commissioned this survey with The Economist Intelligence Unit.

If you would like a copy of the data, I would be happy to share for a small donation in reference or money.

Let’s chat…Melanie Cook. July 2014. twitter: @constant_garden. Linked in: sg.linkedin.com/in/melaniecook2/