Being bossy comes naturally to many people. Consequently, these people are promoted to senior leadership roles because they make things happen using the strength of their personalities. These "bossy” bosses can be very effective at using force and directive language to get things done. They climb the organizational ladder because they excel at delivering results despite their undeveloped people leadership skills. Because they achieve results, their behavior is rationalized or overlooked by other leaders and employees alike.

The relentless drive and autocratic tendencies responsible for these leaders’ success leave them with some pretty significant gaps in people leadership. Driven to succeed, they have little awareness of their own needs and emotions, so they equally neglect their employees as they do themselves. And at its worst, this disconnect can cause those around the autocratic leader to feel bullied, intimidated, or threatened. As a result, the organizational dysfunctions that these leaders create are significant, abundant, and highly destructive. Not knowing how to protect yourself from Autocratic Leaders can lead to complications that are damaging for not only individuals and teams but for organizations overall.

In today’s episode, we discuss the Autocratic Leadership Dysfunction and share some practical tips to help you dismantle this behavior in your behavior or that of leaders in your organization.  We’ll also share real client stories that illustrate just how common it is to find this type of leadership behavior in organizations today. Tune in to learn more about the Autocratic Leadership Dysfunction and discover what you can do to not revert to your own defensive, self-protective behavior, making issues worse.

If you want to know more about Anne & Heather’s work with dismantling dysfunctions in organizations and leadership behavior at Caliber Leadership Systems, check out:

https://dismantlingdysfunction.com

https://www.dranitsaris-hilliard.com

https://caliberleadership.com

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Are you dealing with an organizational dysfunction you need help with? Or do you have a story you would like to share on our show? Contact us at [email protected].

 

IN THIS EPISODE:

 

• [02:06] Episode introduction and overview
• [03:03] What is the Autocratic Dysfunction?
• [14:07] Know yourself and your Self-protective Persona
• [19:26] Don’t take their behavior personally
• [24:22] Influence, don’t oppose
• [29:32] Develop self-limiting behavior
• [33:30] Episode gem & practical takeaway
• [37:59] Episode wrap up

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Autocratic Leadership can be beneficial when decisions need to be made quickly without consulting with a large group of people. 
• The Autocratic Leadership Persona will negate the value of collaboration, cooperation, emotional expressiveness, empathy, caring and concern for the experience of employees because they are mostly concerned with the bottom line.
• Are you ready to start responding effectively to autocratic behavior in others by learning how to not take it personally and stay focused on the issues? Check out the full episode and learn how by developing skills you can increase your ability to influence and shift from self-limiting behavior today!