The Lighter Side of Life

What an old goat can teach you about leadership!

I learnt some good leadership lessons recently from a goat in the Hawkes Bay. Her name is Gertie (and she wouldn't want me to tell you that from my perspective she was a cantankerous middle aged fool!)

I was a temporary leader - on secondment to care for Gertie and the rest of the animal team as part of my house-sitting duties. Like all secondments it looked easy at first: simply carry out the rostered duties at the scheduled times.

And then I met Gertie! If I was going to be the leader, she didn't want a bar of following me. And I have the bruises to testify!

After all, she probably didn't have to follow me: she had her payment guaranteed (the grass along the driveway); was in no fear of downsizing because no one else in the team could do her job; she got her thrills from being a bully and I couldn't unilaterally retire her on grounds of age.

On day five I finally decided to act. If there was a performance agreement for goats, Gertie met all the criteria. But her behaviour was not acceptable. I decided to confront her and use my positional power. I summoned all my courage, I eye-balled the recalcitrant team member and did not back off. She didn't lick my hand but did back off herself and I am sure she looked at me with new respect.

So the lessons were:

Leaders shouldn't get hung up on being in charge
It takes lots of courage to confront the Gerties of the world
Fronting up to issues is not as bad as you might fear

p.s. How many Gerties do you have in your workplace?

We hope that this does not happen in your organisation. Nexus Partners can help you improve your skills in dealing with the Gertie's in your workplace. For more information about Nexus Partners' leadership programmes, email us or call on 0800 4 LEADERS. More information is also available here.