Avoiding The ‘Wolfpack’ Mentality
Perusing the Saturday edition of the New York Times, I noticed an article entitled A Question Of Supervision In The Nichols Case. Those who read my blog from Feb. 26 know that I juxtaposed Mr. Nichol’s experience with my very different experience of getting pulled over by the police. I then questioned the lack of supervisory accountability.
This article addressed the need for policing organizations to address the systemic problems that are rampant in policing culture. What allowed this group of men to act “with a wolf pack mentality”?
Police serve the public and have the sacred duty of protecting citizens. They stop or eliminate crimes from happening. The “supervisor” in this case did not ride with the squad. Apparently, a lieutenant arrived approximately 6 minutes after the horrific beating. Has the public heard anything from immediate supervisors or managers?
Words have power. Language and titles in work systems are important. Supervision is about overseeing. Dictionary definitions say nothing about what supervisors must account for or what authorities might be associated (travel with) the title.
Workers carrying supervisory titles assist those with managerial accountability in their managing duties. They are usually more “seasoned” than an officer or general worker. But it is critical to understand that supervisors are not managers. Managers-in this case policing-must account for the outputs of the people under their command.
How did we get to this place in policing and many other work systems? Years ago academics at some of the most prestigious colleges and university MBA programs began touting the importance of Leadership. The country was fed up with military management models used in the unsuccessful Vietnam War. Many professors used this dissatisfaction to introduce a new concept: leadership. This created significant notoriety for the professors, as many of them had little or no corporate experience.
Just think about this. Higher education is a collegial work system, not a managerial work organization. Professors don’t manage one another. Department chairs are not held accountable for the work of professors in their departments. Leadership, albeit a required characteristic of some managerial roles, is about getting people to follow. Where or what are they following? To what end?
Management, on the other hand, is an actual role in a work system. Managers are held accountable for assigning tasks to others to produce a product or service. Managers are then held accountable for the outputs of their employees. The employee is accountable for bringing his or her best to the assigned tasks.
The last 30 years have resulted in the demise of managerial accountability. Workers are increasingly encouraged to be leaders. Management training programs have effectively disappeared in companies. Universities have created a new revenue stream: teaching about corporate finances and leadership. Unfortunately, these programs do not teach about the human side of work systems. The importance of caring for and valuing workers or how the lack of accountable structures can negatively impact employee performance.
It's time to get back to basics and refocus attention on management: not the management of the past which some sum up as “do what I say, not what I do”. The accountable managerial leadership I refer to is built on trust, fairness, integrity, accountability, and fair compensation. Structure plus accountability create massive results.
Let me share how your organization can establish solid footing. Contact me today to schedule an audit.
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