Sucking the Life out of a Leader

28. Jul, 2010 0 Comments

I drove a beat-up 1964 Chevy pickup every morning to a dairy farm in Richmond, Kansas, a little town 13 miles away from where I lived. My summer job as a 15-year old boy was to milk the cows and bale the hay. The farmer who hired me, Mr. Henderson, probably had no idea how much this city boy needed to learn.

Mr. Henderson had a full pocket of ingenuity. He could turn just about anything into what he needed. He would walk into his shed with a pipe, and within a few minutes he would come out with an adjustable pipe clamp. He knew how to keep us moving.

I remember a time when we were low on gas in a tractor and threatening rain clouds were approaching. He pulled up in his truck, and out came a long rubber hose that he slipped into the truck gas tank. He got close to the tractor gas tank and began sucking on the other end. The force of his sucking brought the gas up the hose more quickly than he realized, and it filled his mouth. Gas wasn’t the only thing flying out of his mouth that day.

All leaders would chose to avoid having a team member who’s a gas hog. The rain clouds seem to always loom above them, and they often run on fumes. Don’t be surprised if the one running on fumes slips a hose into your tank and begin sucking you dry. There always seems to be one person who goes through gas quicker than others. They are high maintenance.

How does a leader know the sucking has begun? A leader’s tank is being emptied when it is necessary to repeat the same conversation several times. A collaborative direction has been established and the desired outcome is clearly laid out. But, then the high maintenance individual heads off in a completely different direction requiring a course correction conversation that wastes time and energy. These conversations lead to a bone dry tank.

Leaders must prevent their tanks from being emptied by creating some healthy boundaries. An occasional conversation to help bring a course correction should be expected. But, if those conversations become noticeably frequent with one individual, a healthy dose of confrontation is essential. If we are being drained, so are others on the team. Productivity is impacted and morale suffers. Confronting the individual head-on has the potential to restore confidence and ensure they are contributing as a team player.

The tank is hit hard when confrontation is necessary. Confrontation drains my energy and leaves me mentally exhausted. After I confront, I step away to refill my tank by leaving the office for a cup of coffee and a chapter out of a favorite book. This allows my mind to refocus and rest.

Every leader needs to consistently share a little out of their tank with their team. This is done by a word of thanks, public praise, and including other’s ideas in the determining the best solutions. But there is a big difference between giving and having it sucked out. Giving brings life to the team and results in a deep sense of satisfaction. Everyone benefits when a leader shares a little of what they have to ensure the success of the team.

How do you handle it when you feel your tank going bone dry? What do you do to refill your tank when it’s getting low?