So you've coped with your boss's "Dr Jekyll-Mr. Hyde" mood swings last year when business accelerated in Indonesia economic boom. Now that you have received your bonus and salary increment letter, things are looking up. You're thinking "why do I have to put up with this?". And you're looking for greener pastures. But, when it comes to your next boss, will the grass be truly greener? What will you look for in a new manager? Is leaving really the best option for you? Or can a deeper understanding of leadership help you manage your current boss better?

1. Staying onboard
Managing your boss in boom times
Indonesia | Leadership | January 2013
So you’ve coped with your boss’s “Dr Jekyll-Mr.Hyde” mood swings last year when
business accelerated in Indonesia economic boom. Now that you have received your
bonus and salary increment letter, things are looking up. You’re thinking “why do I
have to put up with this?”. And you’re looking for greener pastures. But, when it comes
to your next boss, will the grass be truly greener? What will you look for in a new
manager? Is leaving really the best option for you? Or can a deeper understanding of
leadership help you manage your current boss better?
But before you take that big step into the unknown, To work successfully with such a leader, don’t irritate
let’s look at some fundamentals of leadership. them by trying to give them a vision. It doesn’t work
upwards. Authoritative leaders see scoping and
Hay Group has identified six leadership styles that
conveying the big picture as their job; they certainly
“
apply all around the world – visionary, affiliative,
don’t want, or expect, you to do the same thing.
coaching, coercive, democratic and pacesetting.
A preferred None of these styles is the best. Each has its
To impress an authoritative leader, reflect their
vision back to them, confirming that you have
leadership style strengths and limitations and is appropriate to
understood it, and show what you will do to realize
that worked certain situations. For instance, the coercive
approach is useful in getting an organization
it. Such leaders are usually weak in their attention to
during a recession through a crisis, but will stifle initiative and
detail; it’s your job to see to the nuts and bolts and
provide the reassurance that you’re on the case.
”
might fail innovation in the good times. The affiliative style is
most suitable for dealing with emotional situations, Affiliative
miserably like when employees are being retrenched.
This leader is concerned about creating harmony
during an upturn Effective leaders are adept at all six leadership styles and promoting friendly relations. He or she tends to
and can switch from one to another, depending avoid performance-related confrontations. Highly
on the circumstances. But, typically, managers will collaborative, this leader is most likely to ask “how
default to the style they are most comfortable with, are you?” and mean it.
especially in times of crisis and stress. Hence, the
Jekyll-Hyde behaviour some managers display. Leaders like this generate a lot of goodwill because
they don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and
And herein lies the rub – a preferred leadership pitching in on the shop floor.
style that worked during bad times might fail
miserably in boom times. However their need for harmony may get in the
way of making tough decisions. So if there is bad
news to be broken, don’t make it personal. Try to
use external sources of information – like customer
Who is your boss? satisfaction or employee engagement surveys – to
help support your case.
Visionary
This is the classic rock-star CEO. Virgin’s charismatic Coaching
Richard Branson springs to mind. They paint the Such a leader focuses on the long-term professional
big picture and see their role as moving the team development of employees. He or she helps you
towards a shared vision. Because they believe that identify your strengths and weaknesses,
selling their long-term vision is the key to success, encourages you to establish long-term goals and
they will take time to explain the ‘whys’. provides guidance and feedback on achieving
them.
©2013 Hay Group. All rights reserved

2. Indonesia | Leadership | January 2013
If you are looking for a boss to help develop your own actions and body language and what they
career, this is a dream leader to work for. reveal about your inner feelings.
If you are just working for the pay cheque and Manage your frustrations by remembering that life
looking for someone to tell you what to do, then is complicated: things don’t just happen because
this is not the boss for you. To work successfully they’re the right things to do, or because a manager
with this leader, you will need to know what your says so. Decisions turn into actions when others feel
career goals are and be able to take feedback in a ‘bought in’, or because people like you contribute to
positive spirit. making them work in practice.
Coercive Pacesetting
This type of leader needs no introduction – we’ve all Pacesetting leaders set high standards of
met them before. Intent on getting others to “just excellence, are apprehensive about delegating and
do it the way I tell you” they issue directives, rely on have little sympathy for poor performance. Usually
negative, corrective feedback and ‘motivate’ by leading by example, they will take away jobs if high
stating the negative consequences of non- performance is not forthcoming. However, what
compliance. happens more often is that complex jobs are not
delegated at all – pacesetting leaders often assume
In fact, Hay Group’s database of leadership styles
that the best way to get them done quickly and to
show this is the default style of the majority of
their satisfaction is to do it themselves. Margaret
leaders in Indonesia.
Thatcher and Steve Jobs are prime examples of
This style is useful for getting teams and pacesetting leaders.
organizations out of a crisis situation. But if
With such bosses, don’t suggest that you need more
continued into the upturn, high-performers will
meetings. Don’t ask a lot of questions about why
walk out the door at the first opportunity.
“
you’re doing things and how they fit into the big
When working for such a leader, don’t suggest picture. They expect you to have gotten the picture
Like it or not, the different ways of doing things – coercive leaders are automatically. The key is to earn their trust quickly
looking for your obedience, not your ideas. by turning in consistently excellent work.
quality of the
This is not a leader with whom you want to be
leadership you And remember they are uncomfortable delegating
tasks because they don’t trust others to get it right, modest – so take on extra work to show that you
experience has a so start by proving that you can do exactly what is are capable. But do be aware that working for a
pacesetting leader can wreck havoc on work-life
direct impact on asked of you. Keep them in the loop throughout the
balance and lead to exhaustion and burn-out in the
process; double-check that you are delivering what
how well you do
”
they want, how they want it and when they want it. long run.
your job. Consider it as micro-managing upwards. Once you
Right situation, right style
have earned their trust you might have a little more
freedom to do things your way. Talking about managing your boss may sound an
invitation to take part in corporate politicking. But,
Democratic like it or not, the quality of the leadership you
A democratic leader focuses on building experience has a direct impact on how well you do
commitment and generating new ideas. They invite your job. So, it is really about negotiating a win-win
employees to develop directions for themselves situation with your manager to the benefit of your
and the company, so there are usually many career, your team and your organization.
meetings to gather and discuss employees’ views.
In Indonesia’s current boom amid global economic
If you are achievement-oriented, then working with uncertainty, it is only natural to see coercive and
such a boss can be intensely frustrating. All you pacesetting styles of leadership as companies rush
really want is to be left alone to get things done, not to convert the bounty of opportunities into
attending meetings about what everyone thinks revenue. But before you start updating your
should happen next. resumé, reflect on whether you’ve observed your
So the best way to annoy a democratic leader is to boss using the right leadership style in the right
be overtly negative about the democratic process, context in the past. If he or she has, the chances are
for example by refusing outright to attend meetings you are better off staying put. If not, it may be time
or by participating reluctantly. So be aware of your to manage your career rather than your boss!
Contact
Nidthia Chelvam, Managing Consultant for Hay Group Indonesia, helps
multi-national companies and international organizations transform their
business strategies into results.
About Hay Group
Hay Group is a global management
Nidthia also has extensive line and operational management experience consulting firm that works with leaders
with global companies across three continents. to transform strategy into reality and to
help people and organizations realize their
e| Nidthia.Chelvam@haygroup.com
potential. Visit www.haygroup.com/id.
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©2013 Hay Group. All rights reserved