Let’s Get Back to Bossing Up?

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When I was 16 years old, my grandfather and uncle helped me get a summer job as a railway section worker. We maintained the railway tracks through back breaking, manual labor. It was a tough and even dangerous job, with trains rumbling by as the crew worked. I came home with blistered hands, a newfound respect for my elders, and how hard they worked as immigrants to eke out a living.

The foreman was THE boss, and ruled with an oppressive iron fist. He was a stumpy, gruff, belligerent tyrant that strutted around in his overalls, doing nothing but verbally beating on each person. He knew he had control over people who had little choice but to bow to his ignorant behavior. He swore, name called, and doled out work on favoritism. If you were someone he wanted to pick on, he put you in the garbage car detail or worse. The experience taught me a lot about myself and others.

The reason I’m sharing this story is because there is an emerging trend to reinstate so called masculine attributes back into workplace management. While leading researchers like Brene Brown and Adam Grant are extolling the value of more androgynous attributes like generosity, vulnerability and authenticity, there is a competing narrative wrapped up in reinstating what “real men” should act like as team members and managers. While there is merit in reinforcing strength of character, unfortunately the less self-assured are also using this consideration as a cover for inviting or even promoting jerk-like behavior, centered in command and control recipes that are just WRONG. Even the clumsy “return to work” policies are somewhat reflective of reinstating authoritarian control.

There is a mindset difference in embracing the idea of “returning to,” versus “moving forward.” Leadership that nourishes and models courage, compassion, commitment, abundance, respect, self-accountability and other aspirational values, invite going forward NOT backwards. It is not a testosterone driven framework. The workplace has enough challenges without so called leaders wanting to cozy up to the tired revisionist history of being a REAL BOSS.

Let’s advance leadership rather than being seduced in re-Bossing Up. We’ve had enough of bullies high stepping around wielding soul crushing authority.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: Perhaps a potentially futile overcorrection to get back to more masculine, less empathetic attributes in leadership deserves a little examination. Why? Is it true that “tough times create strong people, strong people create easy times, easy times create weak people, weak people create hard times?” As much as I detest bullies, as an adult, I need to have the self-accountability to make it challenging to be bullied. That’s not an easy task for anyone, however I do appreciate those that, for lack of a better term, are disciplined enough to be quote “hard to kill.” Is that ridiculous? Maybe. Of course, in a normal workforce, you shouldn’t be burdened with the idea that you could be “killed,” verbally or physically. However, in this very real world, full of flawed, shortcutting individuals who are quick to abuse power, we should learn and practice to be better than that, and simultaneously be ready to face it. Strive to develop the self-accountability to be physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially and experientially equitable enough to confront bad leadership, rise above it, and truly move forward.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

Let’s Get Back to Bossing Up?

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