The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

In our new book, Contented Cows MOOve Faster, we wrote about authenticity as one of the prime requisites for being a good leader. Among other factors, authenticity requires that one be reliably honest, open, and transparent. We didn’t write about the matter of authentic leaders showing genuine emotion, but we should have.

I realized that this past weekend when I saw a news clip in which Defense Secretary Robert Gates got a bit choked up in addressing Marines and their families at the Marine Corps Dinner In his speech, Secretary Gates recounted how Marine Major Douglas A. Zembiec had effectively led his troops before being killed in May, while on his 4th (yes, you read that correctly!) combat tour in Iraq.

In watching the video of Secretary Gates’ remarks, one can’t help but get the impression that this was the real deal, not one of those phony inside the Beltway acting jobs we’ve become accustomed to. Gates’ behavior suggested to me that under the skin is a real, pulsating human being who thinks a great deal about the impact of his decisions on others. Somehow, I don’t think the assembled audience of warriors thought any less of him for showing how he really felt.

Let’s face it, workplaces can be emotional cauldrons, and as we all do, leaders experience the full range of human emotion… anger, fear, joy, sorrow, and beyond. And yes, there are times when it is best that we mask, or at least heavily regulate the expression of our true feelings.

Take anger for example. There are those who maintain that it has no place in a manager’s repertoire. I disagree. Though it’s usually not helpful for us to add to the level of fear that already exists in the workplace by going ballistic, people don’t want to work for some soulless, passionless blob of Jell-O either. On the premise that people expect their leaders to be genuine (not perfect), an occasional brief, deliberate, and well-controlled display of temper can sometimes be a good thing… damnit!

This might be a good time to spend a few extra minutes in front of the proverbial mirror reflecting on the degree to which the people around us are getting the benefit of an authentic leader.

“A thought leader in the areas of leadership and employee engagement, Bill
Catlette is a seminar leader, keynote speaker, and executive coach. He helps
individuals and organizations improve business outcomes (growth, profit,
morale) by having a focused, motivated, capably led workforce. For more
information about Bill, his partner Richard, and their work, please go to
www.ContentedCows.com“

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