Here are eight provocative statements written by Tuff Leadership Training that challenge the status quo of management and propose a new way of leading. Tuff Leadership Training trains managers in a style of leadership that produces motivated, responsible employees and self-reliant teams. http://tuffleadershiptraining.com/

1. ”Polite or effective –
it’s up to you!”
Many workplaces do not have an open and accepting atmosphere, and instead of being frank
and to the point, we’re “nice” to each other so as to avoid awkward or unpleasant situations.
This undermines efficiency and jeopardises profitability. The fear of conflict, misplaced concern
and stifled opinions maintain the deadlock. You can either continue being polite or learn how
to be courageous and start communicating.

2. “Sound leadership requires something we
can’t manage – being ourselves!”
It’s easy to fall into the trap of “playing offices and managers”. Instead of being yourself, with all
your flaws, you continue to play a role that’s difficult to escape. And the embarrassing thing is
that everyone knows you’re just pretending.

3. ”Your knowledge is an obstacle
to being a good leader”
It’s a myth that the manager has to know the most about his or her business. A manager’s
role is not to know best – it’s to unleash the competence of others. This means that a good
manager can lead any business he or she wishes without knowing a thing about it: because the
knowledge lies with the employees. The manager’s job is to trust them and let them use their
competencies to the full. Your knowing something about the business can even be a hindrance,
since you might be tempted to ignore the real experts. And the real experts will fall silent.

4. ”Why should the one who understands
the least make all the decisions”
Employees have far too little authority at work; if they were allowed to make the decisions,
the business would do better as they’re the ones who know most about it. And instead of
complaining about the stupid decisions their manager makes, they can devote their time to
making sure their own ideas are implemented. All it takes is for you, as their manager,
to start trusting that they’re just as capable as you are.

5. ”The greatest obstacle to success as a
manager is you”
It’s more rewarding to see yourself as the source of what’s around you than searching for
causes outside yourself. If the team you lead is ineffective, what are you doing wrong? All you
have to do to find out is to ask your employees – they know exactly what you need to do
differently. If you take on board what they tell you, you won’t end up standing in the way of
your competent staff – and your success as a manager.

6. ”Conflicts are profitable
– if we don’t kill them”
Conflict-avoidance is endemic to our culture, and it destroys the working climate. Conflicts
drain our energy as we tiptoe around them, when actually there’s enormous power and
creativity on their “flipside”. If we could change our attitude towards conflicts and learn to
embrace them naturally, we would improve our workplaces and, with them, our results. The
only way to do this is to let conflicts arise and to develop the ability to be in them and discover
that they’re perfectly survivable. Most of us have no lack of training opportunities.

7. ”Leadership is simple – you just have to
talk about the most difficult things to talk
about”
The most difficult things to talk about are also the most important. It’s therefore the manager’s
job to make sure that everyone speaks openly about things that would otherwise be swept
under the carpet. This brings conflicts to the surface and we stop gossiping and backstabbing;
criticism can be constructive and decisions can be challenged. Only then can we get properly
down to business. Simple, isn’t it?

8. ”Personal chemistry is a myth”
It’s often said that some people can’t work together because their personal chemistry
isn’t right. This is a misconception. “Bad” personal chemistry is a myth. All groups and all
relationships can be effective and efficient – what it needs is a good dose of honesty and
communication. We even find that the groups that started off with mismatched personal
chemistries can be those that end up producing the best results.