In last week's blog, I related the story of my friend who over the last four years, has been bounced around like a Ping-Pong ball due to the actions of his company's executive team.
He went from a full-time employee to being outsourced, then called back into the fold of his original employer. The latest corporate decision, due to a change in CEOs, is that outsourcing is back on.
This all-too-familiar tale has led him to question upper management's strategy (which to be honest, has never been made clear to him).
So let's look at why managers appear to keep on making the same mistakes.
I call this Executive "Whiplash" Leadership. Its first cousin is, "I have a dream", followed by a direct decision bereft of a thought-through management implementation process. The result for employees is to be whiplashed from one extreme to the other, exacerbated by poor communication. This leads to a misunderstanding of why and what is happening to them.
The fundamental mistake made at the executive level is to ignore managerial accountability and process. Only with it can a CEO engage, explain and adjust the plan relative to feedback from their 'greatest asset': the employees.
Perhaps if the above had happened, my friend would be effectively working to help implement his CEO's plan. He would have been aligned, and understanding and accepting of tough decisions made in the interest of the employees' and company's survival and long-term prosperity.
