The best leader for everyone?

I heard employees state that a certain person was a great leader and they wished they had a supervisor just like him or her. They wanted to be led just like the other employee.

What a nice compliment for that leader, don’t you think? Definitely.

I have conducted employee surveys, also on leadership topics, and in the end, some managers scored high, many average, and some were on the lower end of the scale. No surprise. (This article is not on surveys though. I am in favor of interviews, workshops, and surveys, as long as you do something with the results and don’t just thank the workforce for participating. Surveys can give valuable feedback on your leadership culture and help you develop managers.)

Now, getting back to that leader you wished you had for yourself. How can you really know that he or she would be right for you?

Different leaders for different people

First of all, it is true that good leaders fit many people. They will adapt their leadership style to whatever the individual needs and will manage each person differently. So, yes, you might meet an outstanding leader and he would quickly understand how to manage and develop you effectively.

But — please always bear in mind that a leader and employee relationship is as unique as any other relationship. While leader A might be right for employee B, you should not deduce that the same would be true for leader A with employee C. Employee C might become more productive under leader D.

Different leaders for different phases

Another important aspect are changing life phases. As leader A and employee B both change (and hopefully personally grow) over the years, so do their needs, expectations and working styles. This means that leader A could be great for employee B while B is young and lacks experience, but if the two met twenty years later, they might not match well anymore and employee B would work better under a different leadership style.

Don’t confuse leadership with friendship

Then, there is the trap of sympathy. What does that mean? If you like someone and that person happens to be a manager, this does not automatically mean that he or she would be a good leader for you. I have met many people who I really liked, but who did not perform well as people managers. And I have met weird people with whom I would not want to be friends, but who managed me or other teams very well.

Summed up, I believe that leadership can be observed and assessed from the outside, but try to avoid making assumptions on general or blurred feedback. Also, don’t assume that a good leader will be good with any employee or in any surrounding.

Moreover, leader and employee will be the ones who know best what their relationship is like (with all ups and downs) and only if they both speak up very openly and with (brutal) honesty, a neutral person could assess and compare the leadership style. Black and white results from surveys can be an indicator, but should always be questioned at the same time.

Relationships are never just black or white. And they change with time.