The Top 3 Signs You are Managing a Reluctant Leader

It’s not surprising to notice that some people you work with never step up to
fully embrace their leadership role. It’s not that these individuals are not
productive employees; they just never seem to go the extra mile. We call these
individuals “reluctant leaders.” To identify reluctant leaders within your
organization or on the team you’re managing, there are three main indicators
to look for:
1. You ask the members of your team for constructive feedback in an area
outside of their expertise or about the performance of another department or
peer, and you find the reluctant leaders will refrain from answering the
question. They will give excuses, albeit plausible ones, for doing so.
Reluctant leaders may state that they don’t want to step on the toes of
another individual or department; they don’t feel they have the authority to
offer a critique; or they don’t feel their critique is warranted given the
shortcomings within their department or themselves.
2. Reluctant leaders are often uncomfortable with recognition, whether at the
individual or team level. These individuals believe they or their team has
received due credit and that any extra accolades would reflect poorly on the
team and cast them as boastful and vying for resources. Reluctant leaders
consider it normal and efficient for one person to do the job of three, for
example, and will likely not advocate for additional personnel to help balance
the workload. Ironically, managers of this kind of reluctant leaders often
provide these individuals with even more resources because their conservative
efforts are ultimately ineffective.
3. Reluctant leaders may be eager to take on additional work, but once they
are asked to do more, they will likely display concern about whether their
current responsibilities will be neglected as a result or how they will
allocate their time. Their focus is ultimately on what will not get done
rather than what will get done. Reluctant leaders then view these new
responsibilities as burdensome, and managers feel they need to sell these
individuals on taking on more.
Within organizations, leaders who are reluctant to step out of their comfort
zones come at a significant cost. One study shows that leaders who are on
track to rise within an organization but hold themselves back cost
organizations $12 million/leader and up to $50 million for a C-suite leader.1
Imagine a CFO of a company, for example, who is unwilling to state his or her
opinion on the product. The CFO is in a position that requires him or her to
step up, so this reluctance hinders the entire organization and sets a weak
precedent for the rest of the company. This kind of behavior across business
sectors can cost the economy upwards of $13 billion, according to Chief
Executive magazine.
So what can you do if you have a reluctant leader on your team? The following
list provides some solutions for confronting and correcting the behavior of
reluctant leaders.
1. Reframe - Help these individuals shift their mindset to one of
ownership. Regardless of where they rank in an organization, show these
individuals how their role fits more broadly across multiple parts of the
organization. Taking ownership of their role within the company at large is
indicative of strong leadership.
2. Attitude - Help these individuals shift their attitude from one of
criticism to one of contribution. Let them know that providing an opinion or
insight is about caring for another person, department, or the organization.
These insights are not critiques or criticisms; rather they are important to
the shaping of the big picture and helping the company achieve its goals.
Indeed, these individuals know their departments and processes better than
anyone in the company. Therefore, their insights about how processes or
products could improve are invaluable to the company.
3. Behaviors - Coach these individuals to develop the skills to be
diplomatic and to focus on solutions rather than problems. A conversation
about what’s possible instead of an argument about data and past shortcomings
will be more constructive and result in new ideas and action items that will
ultimately benefit the company instead of assigning blame.
There is a science and art to providing one’s opinion, which takes time and
practice, and not all employees have been given the necessary tools or
training. It is therefore extremely important to be able to recognize
reluctant leadership on your team and provide helpful feedback and clear
requests for the individual to change the behaviors. When your leaders hold
back, other people notice. These differences are often meted out in
performance reviews and promotion conversations, during which others conclude
that the leaders on your team are not ready for more senior positions within
the organization. Don’t let reluctant leaders on your team hold themselves or
your team back. Do your part and start those feedback conversations.