Paul PelletierProject management key note speaker, author, corporate lawyer, and executive| Paul Pelletier Consulting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
The Atlantic (June 2015) features a fascinating article about whether it pays to be a jerk in business. After deeply exploring different perspectives, available research and presenting a very balanced essay, Jerry Useem concludes:
“To summarize: being a jerk is likely to fail you, at least in the long run, if it brings no spillover benefits to the group; if your professional transactions involve people you’ll have to deal with over and over again; if you stumble even once; and finally, if you lack the powerful charismatic aura of a Steve Jobs. Which is to say: being a jerk will fail most people most of the time.”
Does this help convince you that rudeness, disrespect and bullying aren’t a leadership style?
Useem, Jerry. The Atlantic Vol.315 – No. 5. June 2015 p. 48 – 58 “Why it Pays to Be a Jerk” Saving Changes...
Paul PelletierProject management key note speaker, author, corporate lawyer, and executive| Paul Pelletier Consulting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
For those interested in this topic, I will be presenting a PM.com webinar on Coping Strategies for Bullying In PM on September 16. You may wish to attend.
Regards,
Paul Saving Changes...
Julia CunninghamManager Project Management| BattelleRichland, Wa, United States
Rudeness, disrespect and bullying aren’t a leadership style, but are rather indicators of an under-developed person, or an over-developed egomaniac. People respond to and respect people who act with compassion, courage and integrity, no matter the obstacles in front of them.
Saving Changes...
Paul PelletierProject management key note speaker, author, corporate lawyer, and executive| Paul Pelletier Consulting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Great comment Julia. I couldn't agree with you more. What we still have to work on as a profession is convincing organizations that results aren't the only metric that matters. If they allow disruptive behavior to flourish because results trump culture, then we will continue to see high rates of bullying, disrespect and harassment. Saving Changes...
Agree. The worst way to be known around is as a jerk, which creates a negative attitude among the team. Once the team gets an impression that a manager is jerk, the project is in a higway to failure. Being a jerk is making every one's life miserable and leting the whole team down. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
I think we must not close our eyes and think there is no place for ‘being a jerk’ leadership. We cannot forget about it and need to understand strategies how to deal with it. This is an ethical imperative.
As project and program managers we are facing it quite often when on a steering committee organizational conflicts are being carried out, when sponsors rather push a project manager than support him or her, when unexperienced but overloaded project managers see it as a last resort. We see it in politics (Trump), as culturally demanded behaviors (ISIS), in literature (Lord of the flies), in dumb rejections of strangers (Syrian fugitives in Germany, Mexicans in US).
‘Jerk’ Leaders are in particular successful when there is chaos, big change ahead, and people look for a way out. Seeming easy but unsound solutions are provided by these leaders and opposing individuals are pushed aside.
I see leadership in itself as neutral, as a tool, there are ethical and positive leaders but there are also unethical and negative leaders, negative in both leadership style or the means and the pursued visions or goals (Hitler, who exercised a lot to improve his leadership capabilities).
In project management, we agree to pursue rather collaborative and servant leadership styles, but with our stakeholders we might face other styles, which often leads to conflicts. Our tasks is to understand how to cope with these conflicts and excert our influence to mitigate or eliminate the ‘jerk’ styles. It is our professional ethic duty. Saving Changes...
Paul PelletierProject management key note speaker, author, corporate lawyer, and executive| Paul Pelletier Consulting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Thanks Thomas for your comments - you highlight another challenge that PMs face in our daily workplaces. We may have a code of conduct within our profession that guides our behaviours, but those outside of our PM community don't share these norms. Thus, we deal with others in our organizations (stakeholders, colleagues, executives, customers) that may behave inappropriately.
It helps to understand what might be motivating such behaviour and to have tools for coping and managing the challenges that arise.
Saving Changes...
Bruce Wilkinson MBA, PMPExpert Project Manager / Trustworthy Executive Assistant / Business Coach| goBRUCE Business ServicesCuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
I recently saw a quote from Tevye's song in "Fiddler on the Roof" in relation to one of the US's current crop of Presidential candidates: "And it won't make one bit of difference if i answer right or wrong.
When you're rich, they think you really know!"
I've had some "Jerk" bosses who were like that. They were brilliant, powerful, had the capacity for great kindness, but were just as likely to cut you to pieces. Being around them was like being in the room with nitroglycerin. But they DID have staying power because they had the capacity to lead the company to greatness and serious profitability. I can't imagine that their approach would work anywhere in the organization but at the top.
Jerk leadership is much more likely to lead you to the bottom than the top. I like your statement that "being a jerk will fail most people most of the time".
What's worked best for me is to set the pace for the team with the best PM expertise, energy, and leadership I can muster--everyone knows that "the buck stops here", and then a kind of "Servant" leadership style that empowers each person to shine at their respective and collaborative tasks. Saving Changes...
