An organization made the decision NOT to renew the contracts of their contract employees (about 10% of the workforce) for the next year.
Managers in one division handled this information in different ways.
Manager 1 let his contract employees know what was going on soon after he found out so they could plan accordingly.
Months later, Manager 2 sent a hasty e-mail to his contract employees telling them because a local news organization got hold of the story and was breaking it at 5 o’clock.
Manager 3 never said a word to his contract employees; they learned their fate on the 5 o’clock news.
Really?
Which of these guys would you want as a boss? Which would you want working for you?
This story started me thinking about leadership and some interesting research I came across recently about authentic leadership. Authentic leaders are defined as those who are self-aware, moral, open, and objective. They create environments where employees can express what they feel and where employees are connected with and use their psychological capital (research-speak for inner strength and resources).
This research found that those who reported to authentic leaders perceived greater support but here is the kicker – these leaders facilitated greater performance outcomes in extreme and stressful working conditions.
In today’s dynamic business environment, I think most workplaces go through some extreme and stressful conditions every year or so. It may be short-lived but it happens. Leaders who can successfully handle these situations should be cultivated.
This is not to suggest that authentic leaders can change a circumstance like the one in the story above, they just support their employees through such craziness more effectively.
What do you think?