Leading from the Middle

Lenny - a wolf in sheep?s clothing - kept insinuating the idea that Sven, the shepherd of a large flock, not take shepherding so seriously, instead become a quiet quitter.
"You are not rewarded for all that you do, so why not take back some of that time?"
"Why should your master grow rich while you grow poor?"
"Do less, get up later. Take naps."
Sven slept in, but when he got up one of the new born lambs was gone. When he went for a swim and siesta the next day another lamb disappeared.
This was not good.
And, it had been Sven?s hope that someday - if he were prudent with his savings - he would have a farm of his own.
Lenny's laid-back work ethic was not at all he said it would be.
Sven's father had long told him that hard work has its own rewards; the personal satisfaction from a job well done, the respect of your employer and others for doing your best, the insights gained from thinking about one's work versus not thinking, and the camaraderie of meeting friends and colleagues.
Sven quit being a quiet quitter.
And, he had always been a bit suspicious of Lenny's big teeth and grey undercoat.

Moral: Beware the motives of those who promote slothfulness.
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ONLY a click away, more classic and modern fables for the workplace:

And, my book on democratic workplaces suggests that some leadership styles are better than others for the worker to derive satisfaction from his/her work Leading from the Middle, is available at Amazon.

© Copyright all text by John Lubans 2023

Caption: SWA’s CEO Hank Kelleher and CEO Kurt Herwald of Stevens Aviation getting ready to ‘rassle.

The Musk/Zuckerberg cage fight, as termed above* and located in Italy, may never happen.
The humorless Zuckerberg and the iconoclastic Musk may go the congested path of undelivered promises.
Those rooting for the Zucker approve of his accommodating governmental censorship of social media. Those for Musk approve of his exposing that methodical erosion of free speech..
As for the notion of leadership, the much ballyhooed event offers little more than one would find in an elementary school playground with kindergarteners calling each other names.
Only, Elon does it better than the “Zuck”.
It all reminds me of another match, a real one.
In 1992 there was the “Malice in Dallas” arm-wrestle between SWA’s CEO Hank Kelleher and Kurt Herwald, the CEO of Stevens Aviation.
The fight was to settle who got to use the slogan “Just Plane Smart.”
Both corporations were using the slogan with Stevens Aviation probably the original user.
To avoid a million-dollar law suit, Herwald suggested an arm-wrestling match, winner take all. Kelleher gleefully accepted. And the rest is history.
So far, the Mensa Menace in Milan offers none of the good fun of Malice in Dallas; rather, the Milan event would be a cringeworthy grudge match between two spoiled kindergarteners.
Malice in Dallas was fun from the beginning and it benefited both companies, especially Stevens Aviation.
Remember that Hank Kelleher
was in his time as much of an iconoclast as Musk, setting the airline industry on its ear.
Yet to this day, even after Hank's death in 2022 and SWAs 2022 Christmas melt-down, SWA retains its ingrained kindness and sense of humor.
Last week, I flew SWA cross country to Boston and was delighted - yes, that’s the word - that the flight attendants were not only attentive to a fully packed plane of 177 fliers but could joke about it.
As the lights lowered, one intoned in a hypnotic voice: “You are getting sleepy; the lights are fading, you are letting go of all your stress…. We’ll be napping too, but we won’t wake you until we reach Boston ….”
And, there was more lightheartedness.
All a good laugh. It was great to see SWAs fun tradition living on.
Do CEO’s Just Wanna Have Fun?
There’s probably an unwritten rule that CEOs must always avoid anything that could be embarrassing or open to ridicule.
Herb was different.
He worked hard and long hours but he could play when called upon and he never forgot the one for the other.
There is no need for any leader to always be distinguished, solemn, or staid; for Hank, his having fun was giving permission for everyone else at SWA to do the same and, while taking the job seriously, not to take themselves too seriously.
I recall doing a workshop for a dignified (i.o.w., stodgy) group of directors - in suits - very reluctant to take part in a session that involved a mildly challenging game called a “group juggle”.
Instead of it enjoying the challenge and the fun, they were afraid of doing something that might lead to ridicule.
In another instance of leaderly face saving, the director of a prestigious (aren't they all?) executive development program chastened me about taking photos of participants. I was involved in the outdoor segment of the program which involved multiple team building activities.
The boss told me the photos could be used to show the executives having too much fun! Like I said, Dignity über alles!
When Kurt, Herb’s opponent, was asked about taking part in the Malice in Dallas. Kurt said he was offered some advice: “Look, you’re in a ridiculous situation; the only way you win is if you show the world you’re comfortable being in a ridiculous situation.” Kurt says that advice was right. “As a young CEO, you worry a lot about impressions and image. But, really, people just want you to be yourself and show your vulnerability.” Emphasis added.

Click here for a video of Malice in Dallas which might be well worth viewing by Mr. Musk and Mr. Zuckerberg should they indeed go forward with their grudge match.

*Since both are allegedly high IQ, the Mensa fits. Menace is self explanatory and the Milan makes alliterative sense.

When reading the WSJ – especially its career advice - I often reflect on my own work experiences. Recently, “If Yelling Is Out at Work, Why Do These Bosses Still Shout?”
caught my attention.
Initially, I deemed it superficial and concluded that yelling is something long passé, at least since the 1980s.
But, a few days later I did dredge up some memories of yelling bosses, however few. And, the 139 responses to the WSJ article suggested maybe yelling is not so long gone.
Here are a just a few of the pointed reader comments:
“(O)utright yelling and screaming is the resort of the weak, the immature and the unfit.”
“I found that shouters and yellers were usually malevolent psychopaths who didn't really know very much. Instead, they covered up their ignorance with abuse.”
“An effective leader should be able to get their message across without resorting to either raising their voice or using a passive aggressive tone.”
“I learned a lot from one yelling boss, not because he yelled, but because he really knew the business.”
Some of the respondents said they preferred a yeller to a silent passive-aggressive boss.
One of my first jobs was as a soda jerk at a very busy ice cream stand. It was not a good fit. I could not remember the multiple customers verbal orders nor figure out which of three size scoops to use for the cones!
Nor did I like the lack of any training and the unfair – to me - requirement that we had to clean the store - off the payroll clock - after closing at 1AM!
Anyway, after a couple weeks, I quit.
When I told the boss I was quitting, he looked angry but said very little. Then, he walked into the freezer and started throwing things around. I guess this was how he dealt with his frustration at having to find a replacement.
I was glad to be gone.
Another P-A boss, I tagged the “Creeper”.
He took some sort of perverse delight in sneaking up on people and breaking into their reverie or personal zone.
You ask, “To what effect? Surely this was a mere puerile prank?”
Hardly!
The Creeper derived the same sadistic pleasure as a cat’s toying with a broken-winged bird.
But, enough about this P-A subspecies!
My best bosses never yelled nor took the P-A route.
They were encouraging, supportive. They listened and if there was feedback needed, I’d eventually get it.
Maybe because I was in a field where innovation and pro-action, i.o.w. CHANGE, was seen as something threatening. My bosses had a different viewpoint – they wanted to change the status quo and, as a result, they gave me leeway and had my back.
Instead of settling into the profession’s prevailing maintenance mode, they were on board with my streamlining and outreach ideas.
When I interviewed Andris Vilks, the director of Latvia’s national library, he brought up a grizzly vs. teddy bear comparison.
I asked Andris how the staff regards him. He told me, frankly, “Only an idiot thinks he is ideal.”
“Sometimes I would be happy if I were more patient – my reaction is not always best. I become too angry, not a teddy bear, sometimes a grizzly!”
However, he is “very fast to forgive, but it (his temper) is a weakness; a manager should always control behavior. On other hand they (the staff) know exactly what I think.”
Team sports can give us insights into the best kind of yelling along with some of the very worst!
I spent a considerable time with a head coach, Gail Goestenkoers, when I did a study of a woman’s collegiate basketball team
Throughout practices, locker room sessions, one-on-one meetings with individual players, coaches’ meetings, and in games, I observed Coach G’s respect, caring and fondness for the players. She was clear about roles and expectations, she was firm and demanding. And she would, on occasion, yell at players during practice.
But, the fiery feedback was always about what was lacking and what needed to be done for improvement.
Never did the yelling or other criticism turn into an unhinged f-bomb rant or a personal attack. Her criticism was always about something within the player’s control and team expectations – mutually shared by players and coaches.
Importantly, that constructive criticism - immediate, explicit and specific- was always softened with a ratio of four or five positive statements to the one negative.
Her players told me they expect to be held accountable: “If the coach is doing her job she has to yell at you.”
Players, when verbally blasted with “Your defense sucks”, forgive the vernacular and ratchet up their intensity in ferociously protecting the goal.
The study appears in my book, Leading from the Middle as Chapter 8: “More Than a Game: A Season with a Women’s Basketball Team”. (See link below.)
Yelling is the equivalent of a kick in the ass (KITA). And such external motivation does get you moving, but it is no substitute for the internal.
When I was a high school runner, there was no need for the coach’s yelling because my team mates and I were internally motivated to do our best.
I lived for track and was forever improving and seeking to get better.
Now, this same coach was my chemistry teacher.
Because I was not a serious student, he probably should have been yelling at me! Hence I have the most primitive knowledge of chemistry.
So, you see there is a role for both quiet encouragement and some loud and pointed demanding.


Caption: A bit of timely bear humor for only the hippest among us.

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ONLY a click away, classic and modern fables offer ways to engage, without yelling, difficult workplace situations:

And, my book on democratic workplaces offers non-yelling insights on leading and following Leading from the Middle, is available at Amazon.

© Copyright all text by John Lubans 2023