Task and anxiety
Wed 09 September 2009
, Thyra de Graaff and Moniek Vossenaar, Phyleon
A female top manager working for an international company got a new position in the company. To properly prepare for her new function, she asked a Phyleon coach for a few sessions.
In one of the discussions, we asked this top manager what she thought was the most important thing to do in this new position – what would make the difference between success and failure.
Her immediate answer was, “realizing the European goals for growth.”
She mentioned one of the company's goals, and not what she had to do. “Quickly and effectively implementing the European IT platform,” was her second attempt. “Cutting a lot of costs by centralizing important back-office processes on a European level.” Again, she mentioned goals instead of her own role in achieving the goals. “I’m driving the whole operation,” she shouted. Indeed, she was, and the different boards from the different countries experienced that as something forced upon them.
She realized that, if she didn’t win them over for these drastic changes, the results would be shaky. On the one hand, she had to be goal-oriented. On the other hand, she had to win the hearts and minds of people who didn’t feel ownership for her plans. She realized that achieving the ideal balance – between determination and empathy – would make a big difference in the next three months.
When we asked her what she’d done to achieve this in the past weeks, she looked ashamed, and said, “Nothing”.
It’s commons for leaders to recoil from their most important task. The most important task is often the most difficult.
How do you solve this difficult dilemma?
It demands intellectual efforts. Leaders have to think about themselves and organize others. Thought does not always lead to immediate solutions. Leaders have to be brave enough to seek the misty realms of that which they do not yet know, and what they do not yet quite dare to do. Signs of escape include coming to conclusions too quickly, simplifying the task too soon, importing solutions from elsewhere too easily, and – last but not least – leaning too heavily on allegedly powerful external and internal advisors.
Aside from the intellectual challenge, this is also an emotional issue.
The primary task also includes taking the risk of doing the most important things wrong. As the risk of failure increases, anxiety grows. That’s a psychological truth, just like the reflex to protect yourself from anxiety. If you don’t face this consciously, the subconscious will work against you.
The female leader in this example used a lot of tasks on her to-do list as an escape mechanism.
Such as examining the new salary structure with experts. Everyone was delighted that she showed an interest in this. The time she spent on this meant that she did not have to focus on her own tasks.
This example is not an exception.
Lots of leaders and management teams spent a lot of time doing things that must get done, but which mainly should be done by others. It’s not necessarily about being a control freak – it’s more about anxiety for the most important task at hand. Leaders will benefit by looking closely at this, and by carefully outlining the exact behavior that suits their most important task.
Thyra de Graaf and Monique Vossenaar are both partners of Phyleon consultants, center for leadership & change. Thyra is a psychoanalyst, organization consultant and coach for leaders and professionals. Moniek is a business manager and coach.
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