Cartoon – You must continue your therapy
Tag Archives: Stability
5 WAYS TO SUCCEED WITH AN INFLEXIBLE PIGHEADED BOSS
If you’re flexible, rigid people seem pigheaded, narrow minded, and self-centered. Why can’t everyone be flexible like you?
Rigid people drive the train:
If you have an inflexible boss or team member, they always drive the train.
- Fear of offending them controls interactions.
- Tough conversations always go one way. Everything is about winning or losing.
- Violating the “rules” is a capital offense. Throwing people under the bus may become a means of control.
Change, innovation, and progress slow to a snail’s pace when rigid people drive the train.
Stability:
Stability is the advantage of rigidity.
Organizations need rigid people even if some think they’re evil. You don’t need the dark-side of their strength. But without them, inconsistency escalates into instability.
Sure, they stress themselves and others. They complain about missed commons. But, they’re great at following procedures and delivering consistent results.
Inflexible people love systems that prevent failure.
Navigation tips:
What if your boss is inflexible?
- Adapt to them. They won’t adapt to you. No one likes to be changed – especially an inflexible boss. They’ll lash out like caged animals if you pressure them.
- Admire their strengths and say so. Say, “Your personal consistency brings stability and consistency to our organization.”
- Accept, embrace, and answer their discomforts or fears. Telling them that things will work out drives rigid people crazy.
- Prepare them for change. Don’t surprise them. Discuss problems before solutions.
- Establish rituals and routines. Don’t addd stress to their stressful lives.
What suggestions do you have for navigating an inflexible boss or teammate?
Cartoon – You must continue your therapy
What is the value proposition of an Interim Executive?
In my experience dealing with buyers of interim services, the first and often most heavily weighed consideration is the cost of the interim resource. The less sophisticated the decision maker, the more likely that they will be motivated primarily if not exclusively by cost. This is because they do not get or choose to ignore the value proposition. This has happened to me time after time. Each time, I held my ground and demanded a fair premium for my services. In each case, I told my client that if they did not find value in my services, they could terminate me without cause or notice. Once they had a chance to experience what a sophisticated interim executive could provide, the cost issue was not raised again. A decision maker that seizes an opportunity to buy interim services at a small or no premium should be worried about what they will be getting for their money.
HENRY KOTULA 