Manager as Pooper Scooper
Hotheads are a reality in organizational life.
I’m not endorsing or encouraging hotheaded behaviors.
Manager as pooper scooper:
Every manager has cleaned up the aftermath of a hothead’s outburst. The hothead moved on. Everyone else tiptoes around the road apples left behind.
Sensitive spirits feel demoralized. Timid team members won’t speak up but hope you will. Perhaps you should.
Note: Violent or threatening behaviors are grounds for dismissal.
Worth it:
Don’t expect hotheads to change.
A hotheaded symphony conductor might be worth it if they…
- Have a big heart. Terminate coldhearted hotheads. A big heart and generous spirit compensate for many deficiencies.
- Are respected by the team for their talent.
- Make substantial contribution to the team’s success.
- Are worth the time, trouble, and energy it takes to deal with the aftermath. (Discuss this concern with the team.)
A bighearted hothead might be worth the trouble.
Dealing with damage:
I don’t mind working with hotheads, but some find it unacceptable.
A reader writes, “How do you help people who feel damaged by hothead behaviors?”
- Don’t underestimate the drag of disengagement and low morale a hothead creates in some environments.
- Don’t assign gentle spirits to work with hotheads.
- Empower gentle spirits, but like hotheads, don’t expect gentle spirits to radically change.
- Give gentle spirits permission to leave work when there’s a hothead episode.
- Provide training and coaching on how to be assertive without being aggressive.
- Don’t solve any relationship issues you aren’t willing to keep solving.
- Have a team meeting to discuss concerns and adopt healthy strategies. Some hotheads may reject this approach and seek employment elsewhere.
- Penalize undesirable behaviors financially like professional sports teams. Is this an option?
Advantage:
I encourage you to reflect on potential advantages. How might learning to deal with hotheads strengthen teams and develop people?
How might managers deal with the fallout of a hothead’s behaviors?
Kindergarten rules:
“You (Hothead) make a mess, YOU clean it up.”
The only exception seems to be the Chef / CEO;
that’s what the sous chef / VP is for. Not sure why that is …
The very best chefs are great diplomats (they clean as they go – yes, Chef Chris (and Idie) Hastings, I’m channeling you).
The best leaders hold ALL accountable (to everyone else); no exceptions … that’s where the buck stops; that’s what leadership is.
The one that creates a problem is the one that needs to resolve it.
Thanks Rurbane. Couldn’t agree more re: if you make a mess, you clean it up. Of course, sometimes people aren’t able to clean their own messes. But, as a general rule, leaders should make room for people to clean up after themselves.
In the case of bullies, their lack of social intelligence might result in worse problems. But again, the general rule is important. Expect people to be adults.
Thanks for this, Dan! As usual, you highlight something that’s a problem many leaders find difficult to deal with or don’t feel they have the tools or backing to take on.
One caution here, I’ve found, is that leaders who don’t want to hear any dissent or discussion will label people as “hotheads” to consolidate power. That said, I think the examples you present are clearly a different situation.
Thanks James. Your addition is important and powerful. It seems like a leader who labels dissenters as hotheads might be one him/her self.
And what do you do if the hothead is the leader? Some people end up in leadership positions by playing politics and then fail at it. Being a hothead and a leader especially when you are supported by professionals who know how to behave is its own swamp no one wants to get near but it should be able to be dealt with without demoralizing those who work hard and don’t lose their head…
Hi Mary,
You aren’t the first to wonder about handling hotheaded leaders. You might find a bit of help on a previous article. https://leadershipfreak.blog/2020/07/15/managing-hotheads-is-like-handling-rattle-snakes/
There were many interesting comments there.
This is somewhat of a two-way street – or perhaps divided highway… For every fractious “hothead” on your team, you probably also have a “sheep”. Neither, are particularly healthy for your team, but if you cull the hotheads to satisfy the sheep, pretty soon you’ll have a bleating herd with no internal potential for leadership. Not an easy situation to balance by any stretch of the imagination, but if you focus on only one tail of the distribution, you’ll probably not going to be happy with the eventual results.
It’s like an old exam question this:
“I am assertive;
You are aggressive.”
Discuss….