All leaders want to be Jedi Masters at work, but if they aren’t careful, their leadership style can start slipping toward the dark side. Light-side warriors engage the hearts and minds of all the troops to harness the power of the (work)Force.
Unlike in the movies, the problem isn’t the lure of fear and intimidation as managerial tactics. It’s a lack of focus on people skills. Young Padawan managers aren’t taught how to connect with their people. They’re often promoted based on other abilities and left to develop leadership skills on their own. What’s a young Anakin Skywalker to do? (Obi-Wan was his only hope.)
More experienced managers may know how to engage their team but fall victim to dark-side forces like competing priorities and crammed schedules. If they are only praised and rewarded for bottom-line results, guess where they will focus their limited time? There’s no evil, galaxy-dominating intent here – just an assumption that the “soft” skills will take care of themselves.
We’ve sent a droid to remind the masses what happens when the manager-employee relationship isn’t nurtured. There’s a hologram message inside with three tips to help managers stay on the light side of the Force.
