Are you mistaking rudeness for leadership skills?

I recently read an article suggesting that managers who behave fairly and treat their team members with respect can lose out to those who don’t.

The sad thing is we all know that this happens a great deal. It tied in with another interesting article about how we often mistake rudeness in people for power in the Scientific American. about how rude people can be perceived as powerful

Rude Leaders

I think it’s a disgrace that we still make these mistakes. Or perhaps it’s a reflection on some of the leaders we see who often behave rudely. What we need to remember is that we are the people who give them a license to behave like this.

You're Fired

How many people watch Alan Sugar and enjoy it? To me his behaviour is often appalling. I would like to think that he treats people badly just because it makes good TV, but I have been informed by people who have know some of his employees that it’s not an act.

It’s time we made it clear that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable, both in young people and also in senior managers.

Standards for Leaders

We need to set higher standards of behaviour for our leaders. There is no need to be rude in order to lead.

Behaving fairly results in having better and more effective companies and teams which results in achieving more for the benefit of all.

That’s what good performance management is all about. Rudeness is a lazy way of behaving when you either don’t know any better or can’t be bothered to behave more respectfully towards your fellow human beings.

For more information, the article is “Why Fair Bosses Fall Behind” by Batia M. Wiesenfeld, Naomi B. Rothman, Sara L. Wheeler-Smith, and Adam D. Galinsky