Several years ago, I was chatting to Barry, my coach and mentor.  At the time, I was particularly aggrieved at the behaviours of one of my peers.  I complained that this person’s actions were clearly of malicious intent, and intended to position me in a negative light.  It seemed so clear to me at the time.  In his wisdom, Barry gave me some excellent advice, he said

‘always see people’s intentions as pure unless you have absolute evidence to the contrary; and remember incompetence isn’t malicious’.

It started me thinking about my own leadership and that of those around me.  I don’t think we could really survive in an environment where there was malicious intent, everyone goes to work with the intention of doing their best, but we also put expectations on our leader’s behaviours and sometimes these do not translate well in the workplace.  My friend always says,

‘it’s not what’s wrong, it’s what’s missing’.

 

With the best intentions leaders do and say unwise things at times, we’re not all perfect.  Where there is malicious intent, the answer is easy, they are not fit to lead and should not be in the organisation.  Where it is not deliberate, then what they may have is a behavioural ‘blind spot’.  In other words, they are lacking in self-awareness and the ability to see the subsequent consequences of their actions.  My assertion is that blind spots is where most of these sub optimal actions and words may sit. Behavioural incompetence if you will.

It is very difficult, at times, for people to separate behaviour from intention, I remember getting some very good advice early in parenthood, ‘look at your child’s intentions before you chastise their behaviours’.  If the intention is good and the delivery of it is off, the worst thing you could do is chastise the child.  Your role as a parent is to teach the child how to best deliver their intentions through both words and/or actions.  It’s also to investigate the reason behind those unfavourable behaviours and actions that the child demonstrates; generally, there is a root cause, and managing and working through these with the child is also good parenting.

In adulthood, the expectation is that those who hold leadership and management roles have all the behavioural issues solved.  Unfortunately, this is rarely the case for any of us.

So what is the answer?

 

Having someone who clearly adds value to the organisation through their technical skills, but is sub-optimal in their behaviours is not an uncommon challenge in businesses today.  Good leadership, like good parenting is a great starting point to address this issue, but recognise it requires time and effort.  Working with an individual to turn negative outcomes into positive ones, by empowering that person to recognise those sub-optimal behaviours which no doubt come from the best intentions is essential.  This can be done within an organisation by a leader who can see the value in this personal development or by an external coach trained in developing behaviours that deliver well the best intentions of the individual and subsequently the business.

Ultimately, good delivery of the best intentions of a leader or manager will make or break the organisation.