What happens when managers throw their team members under the bus?
Being called into the CEO’s office when I was a fairly new middle manager type in a growing company was nerve wracking. I was out of the office and received a phone call that the CEO wanted to see me right away. I asked if it could wait until I finished my next customer meeting. The Executive Assistant on the other end of the phone said clearly that it could not. I needed to come right away.
The drive back to the office was full of fear, uncertainty and, did I say fear?
I walked into the office and his assistant took me into his room right away. I was sweating buckets.
Inside, I found the CEO and my boss. My boss looked scared. The CEO looked pissed off! Ian, the CEO asked me to take a seat. I sat down. Then he launched into a full on attack. Raising his voice and asking me who gave me the authority to implement a sales compensation plan to my group without approval?
It was clear right away by the look on my boss’s face that he had “thrown me under the bus.” A fancy way of saying that my boss had been questioned about an expense and he right away pointed the finger at me versus doing what great leaders do – get the facts and support their team. In other words, take responsibility.
Ian had me. It was my plan. I did not get approval ahead of time. I had made the mistake of thinking that I had the authority to do so. I took complete ownership by telling him it was all my idea.
Fully convinced that the next thing out of Ian’s mouth was going to be “Your fired,” I began to mentally prepare for the unemployment line.
Ian then asked me what I had hoped to achieve by the plan? I explained that the plan was to inspire some non-sales team members to prospect for new business that would pay them a small incentive for actual business that came of it. The results were that for approximately in $10K in expense, it drove over $300K in new business at a very high margin.
Ian smiled.
He then told me that if I had not taken ownership, he would have fired me. He thanked me for my honesty and for driving the business.
My boss got fired for throwing a team member under the bus. Turned out that he was also taking credit for a lot of the team’s ideas as well.
Why do some managers throw their reports under the bus and not take responsibility?
As a leader, your number one responsibility is to the people you lead and the customers they serve. Your team will always watch your back if they know you are watching theirs. Your customers will be served better by team that feels safe, appreciated and respected by you, the leader. This combination will produce a profitable business. It is that simple.
Live authentically. Keep it simple.
Robert Murray is an Author, Global Speaker and Business Strategist. You can find Robert’s books on heart based leadership here. For further advice, ideas and inspiration on leadership, follow Robert on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.
