[NFBF-L] Insight for the Journey: Are You a Thermometer or Thermostat Leader?

[PLipovsky]

Sharing for your information.

 

I love the two parallels!!!

 

 

Are You a Thermometer or Thermostat Leader?

by Randy Conley

 

When it comes to leadership, are you a thermostat or a thermometer? Mark, my
friend and colleague, posed that odd question to me this week. He went on to
explain the difference between the two.

 

A thermometer reflects the temperature of the environment. It simply reacts
to what's happening around it. If the temperature is hot, it tells you so.
If it's cold, the thermometer reflects that reality as well. It's a dumb
instrument in the sense it doesn't contain intelligent, multipurpose
functionality. It has one purpose and one purpose only.

 

A thermostat, on the other hand, regulates the environment. It sets the
desired temperature of the room and actively works to maintain it within a
given range. If the temperature rises above the goal, the thermostat signals
the air conditioner to crank up and cool the room down. If the temperature
falls below the goal, the thermostat causes the heater to turn on in order
to warm the room up. The thermostat is intelligent in the sense it's always
monitoring the environment, and if the temperature gets too hot or cold, it
decides what to do to correct the situation.

 

Thermometer leaders react to their surroundings. When the tension gets high
and people are on edge, these leaders are often seen losing their cool. They
become irritable, harsh, demanding, critical, impatient, and maybe even lose
their temper and yell or curse. Thermometer leadership doesn't inspire trust
and commitment with people, it erodes it.

 

Thermostat leaders, however, constantly have a pulse on the morale,
productivity, stress level, and environmental conditions of their team. When
the temperature gets hot because the team is under pressure of a heavy
workload, resources are scarce, or pending deadlines are causing stress,
they cool things off by acting as the calming influence with the team. They
take time to listen to the concerns of their team members and provide the
necessary direction and support that's needed to help the team achieve its
goals. Thermostat leaders also alleviate pressure on their team by mixing in
some lighthearted fun at opportune times.

 

Likewise, when work is slow and people are prone to just go through the
motions, thermostat leaders get their teams refocused on the vision,
purpose, and goals of the team. Because they are actively monitoring the
environment of their teams, they know when the team needs to be challenged
with new goals and priorities, or when they just need a friendly kick in the
pants to stay focused on their current initiatives.

 

Thermostat leaders build trust and confidence with their followers, whereas
thermometer leaders erode trust. When times get wild and crazy, people want
to see their leaders react with calm, focused, and determined leadership.
They want them to set the tone for how the team should react during tough
times and navigate the rough seas ahead. That's a tough challenge for
leaders because they are team members themselves and are subject to the
same, and often times more and different, stressors of those experienced by
the team.

 

So, how would you respond to this question? Are you a thermometer or
thermostat leader?

 

Source:
http://leadingwithtrust.com/2013/06/23/are-you-a-thermometer-or-thermostat-l
eader/

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbf-l_nfbnet.org/attachments/20230724/df77978b/attachment.html>