Confusion is a serious matter because confused leaders produce confused followers.
Introduction…
Many red flags and warning signs of bad leadership, heads, or management exist. Yes, there are many, but one of them is when followers are confused. When followers are confused, it means they have entered a “one-chance leader.” A bad leader is a ‘waster’ of corporate [the group] destiny. That is why a bad leader can be a punishment to the people or a curse.
Last week till yesterday, I witnessed a lot of students hungry to learn in their class, but they were confused. Confused about not seeing their lecturers, confused about not knowing who teaches what course, confused about their projects, confused about their seminars, confused about when to defend them, confused about how the semester is running, confused about who the Head of Department (because nobody had come to address them as HoD, yet there is one, on and on.
Last week, these students went to work-to-rule, or would I say sit-to-rule, and declared no lecture until the imbroglio they sensed wrongly or rightly was addressed by their lecturers. As pass them and saw that, I addressed them that last week. And on 3rd July 2024, I was around there, and I went into their class and taught them something before stopping halfway to join the CEO that was my reason for coming around that time.
This is Me…
I don’t get confused and I will never be confused. Please, I am not boasting. I have the Holy Ghost. I may not figure out what I have not paid attention to, but that is a matter of time, I will get it. Not that I will ever be confused. No. It is like a mistake. I don’t just practice making mistakes…and I deliver and do things with a high level of assurance of what I am doing.
The Reality…
Too many leaders or managers or heads of whatever are confused…and a confused leader is like a CURSE or PUNISHMENT to the people he/she is leading. Why do I say that always? If you understand the CONCEPTS you will understand where I’m coming from. A leader is one who KNOWS the way and he is taking his/her people to the WAY. Now, if that leader, head of a department, head of unit, manager, or administrator is confused, then he will lead the people to cataclysmic confusion and failure. He will waste their destiny.
Let Me Illustrate…
One day, a manager in a company I know called an impromptu meeting to let his department know that he felt that no one was obeying him, that they were slacking off, and that he would change them with new people if things didn’t change. Imagine!
And for all of this to happen, he was going to start being hard on them. I later learned that days before, there had been a meeting on some of the things he said but no one bought in. From where I was sitting [I mean thinking from], his reports had a question mark on their face, like “What’s going on?”.
When the meeting was over, every single one of them was doubly confused, more confused, than clear on what their manager wanted. I thought to myself, why is this person in a management position? Who made this person a manager? How managed? How has this organization degenerated to making a fool a manager? Incidentally, this is the lot of many organizations. Your boss might be the type I am writing about.
Another illustration…
I have seen a head of department swearing he doesn’t know anything about a document circulated that his decision or allocation of duties/schedules were upturned by his junior by 4.30 – 5.00 pm only to post the same document by 7.00 pm by himself. The same head of the department postponed a discussion on what he said he wouldn’t accept, and at worst, when released by his dean, he will discuss it with his department, only to unilaterally post the same information. He suffers from CONFUSION. This confusion is fueled and fed by WEAKNESS. The man is weak…and weak leaders are lost to the organizations they belong to.
Note…
Please leadership position is synonymous with strength, boldness, and courage. Woe to them whose leaders are weaklings and babes as Holy Script would say.
You can’t expect progress when people don’t know what’s expected of them.
Serious…
Imagine undergraduate students over 2 months are being tossed out who is teaching this or that? Who is supervising them? Which lecturers are coming today or tomorrow? How will these students tell a good story of their alma mater when they left school? How will they be proud of the department that treated them thus? Who caused it? Confused leadership, rather a leader.
Confusion in the ranks means there’s confusion at the top.
Disorganizations…
As a leader, one thing I dislike is disorganization. Disorganization is an outcome of confusion. Any time or where you see a confused person, you are seeing a disorganized person. If I’m confused and disorganized, then everyone else will be too. That’s why I don’t get confused. Since 2006, I have teaching Leadership to organizations and Individuals.
The Key: Clear, Concise, and Consistent Communication [3C Communication]
It’s no secret at all, and research backs it up that clear, concise, and consistent communication is a key skill every leader should have; according to Harvard, clearly communicating expectations is one of the top 10 (#3) leadership competencies.
The leader that kept students stranded and confused as above DOESN’T COMMUNICATE.
The manager who made his subordinates bewildered as above DOESN’T COMMUNICATE.
Leaders Communicate…
The question is what did the person think leadership is? Leaders’ primary job, over 80% is to communicate. As I write this, yesterday, my boss, the CEO of my organization was busy communicating one program to another, one agenda to another.
Chicken Without Heads…
When people are confused and disorganized, they’re “chickens without heads” -where people simply do things without knowing exactly what’s expected of them. To put it bluntly: As a leader, you look like a disorganized fool when you leave people confused. Gbam!
You didn’t read me well, “as a leader, head, administrator, or manager, you look like a disorganized fool, and idiotic when you leave people confused. As a leader, confusion is supposed not to be your dictionary.
Communication isn’t easy
Communication isn’t easy. But as a leader, you have to be aware of your weaknesses and work on turning them into strengths. And if your weakness is humongous, why did you accept to lead, or continue to lead?
Put yourself in other people’s shoes, would you like to feel confused when you interact with yourself?
Take Home…
Confused leaders create, produce, make, or manufacture confused followers. Confusion in the ranks means there’s confusion at the top.
Dr Mike Ihezuo is a leadership authority. He helps individuals and organizations secure their footing in Leadership. You can reach him on this site, or CONTACT.
