Captains, Presidents, Board members, one question:    DO YOU DRIVE Your members NUTS?

Usually when we hear the horror stories about some captain's or board member's behavior, we can easily and honestly say, "I’d never do that." But if you, as an organization's leader (or employee), are alienating staff members or causing frustration, stress or the very confusion that keeps others from giving their best to the krewe, wouldn’t you want to know? Unless you’re one of those relatively rare Certified Jerks (C.J.), wouldn’t you want to do something about it?

Based on both external research and personal experience, here are several typical leader behaviors (as well as a few real doozies) that can irritate the heck out of the people with whom you work, play, or spend some volunteer time with. In low-key to moderate cases, employees, and even the leaders, lose time and energy they’d rather spend making the company—and their own job—better. In the mid-range to worst case scenarios, C.J. leader behavior can result in lawsuits, worker’s compensation claims, plummeting productivity, turnover of employees/volunteers that you’d rather keep onboard. Maybe one day It will cause your krewe to fold.....don't laugh, I've seen it happen.

Potentially destructive Krewe captain or board member behavior

Do as I say, not as I do. One of the things that crops up often in employee surveys is, "He tells us to do one thing, but doesn’t walk his own talk." For example, if you’re evangelizing about providing great customer service, but nay-say, condescend and remain inaccessible to the very staff that interacts with customers, you’re providing a model you probably don’t want them to emulate with customers. Make sure your own behavior is in line with your rhetoric. Demonstrate the behavior you want from employees.

Follow the Guru. If adopting the management theory du jour is routine behavior for you, it could suck the life energy right out of even the most terrific, enthusiastic members and derail progress toward the krewe’s goals. In competitive krewe, metro area market and seat-of-the-pants start-up environments, doing what worked last year or even last week isn’t usually realistic. But changing strategies without adequate communication, or changing strategies without a centering vision, makes it tough for staff members to want to commit their energy on your (or the company’s) behalf.

Did I say that? This is the leader who assigns a project, often with a rush deadline, then casually tells the Krewe member, as he or she is submitting it as requested, that it's no longer needed. Or assigns the same task to several people without telling any of them that a co-member’s also working on it. Or makes promises she or he conveniently forgets about once the staff member has fulfilled his part of the agreement.

Therapist-Mom (or Dad). You could easily mistake this leader's domain with group therapy at a psychologist's office, because emotional and dysfunctional behavior rule the day. A wanna-be psycho-therapist, this leader draws no lines between personal and professional behavior, so therapeutic personal discussions about or resulting from various dysfunctions flourish. Hugs, encounter sessions and tissue boxes are more abundant than efficiency and professionalism.

Ask, don’t act. This is the leader who asks for feedback or ideas that then seem to fall into a black hole of inaction. Suggestion boxes go unanswered, brainstorm sessions yield no follow-up action, reports get filed and collect dust, and feedback yields no changed behavior. The only things that shift are krewe member morale and meeting participation levels, which decrease.

Master of equality. Often seen in small business and entrepreneurial environments, but especially in Krewes as well, this leader doesn't want anyone to feel left out. He willingly shares information about all aspects of the krewes business, from strategic plans to costume designs, even the krewes financial details. He's the leader who says, "I want my members to care as much about the krewe as I do" and is disappointed when they don't. Sooner or later, though, he learns the Rules of the Wise Captain: 1) They who don't pay the bills and carry the risk will never care as much about krewe business as she who wakes up at 2:00 a.m. worrying about how to meet payroll, pay the quarterly taxes or increase revenue; and 2) even the flattest organizations have some hierarchy because it's not everyone who wants the responsibility of a truly egalitarian environment, and someone has to make the many decisions required in a krewes business. The buck does, in fact, stop somewhere.

Attila the Hun (or Cruella DeVille). Stories abound about men and women who reduce others to tears by screaming, hurling objects, threatening or insulting others. Entire cartoon lines and web sites have sprung forth thanks to such anecdotes. Granted, if a person allows someone treat her this way, she or he shares the responsibility. But some behavior is so unexpected, so curt, even cruel, that it catches one off-guard. Perhaps some leaders get so lost in their own insecurity or intense pressure, they lose sight of how their behavior looks and sounds to others. In the worst cases, some Krewe captains just don’t care, and until they get a letter from their former member’s lawyer, find themselves the subject in a nasty news headline, or lose members as a result of an unhappy krewe and/or see a continual revolving door through which the best and brightest eventually escape.

Uber Geek. This captain or krewe leader doesn’t like to be fenced in, and doesn’t realize that the people who do the volunteer work for him don’t all thrive in environments that have no structure, no policies, no job descriptions, no direction save "making cool costumes." After all, he’s not a Suit, he’s a brilliant seamstress (or marketer or chef) who wants to build a cool, flat, creative, egalitarian work environment. Pool tables and pinball machines abound. But while the Chaos Theory rules, chaotic offices do not. Remember this. People need some rules to give them boundaries in which to do their jobs. That doesn't mean that the fence has to be all the way around something, or that there can't be some breaks in the fence, you simply need to control what goes in and out of that break.

Temperamentally yours. This is the leader who thinks consistency relates only to the preferred thickness of his Fruit Smoothie or his strawberry daiquiri. Volunteers never know quite what to expect from him or her; They could be happy and chatty one minute, sullen or snappish the next. The only thing that’s consistent are their mood swings! But hey, it keeps those volunteers guessing (and stressing). How marvelous! NOT!

Do you recognize yourself in any of these profiles?

Come on, not even a little bit? Take heart; acknowledging our Shadow is a first big step. Another good step would be to get an honest assessment of how the Krewe's volunteer members, experience working for you.

      Become an Enlightened Leader, for your Krewe! You've got to remember that these members pay dues to your org to belong. They volunteer their valuable time, and they desire good leadership and praise for their efforts on your behalf. Heap praise upon them, as often as you can, but be sincere, about it. You're trying to lure more members to your krewe, remember, the best lure is that of friends, family, and power. If they're enjoying themselves, they'll recommend your krewe with enthusiasm.