Stefano^* has extensive experience as a leader. He has been deploying a management style that is authoritative and leaves little space for collaborative decision making. Stefano has been successful for many years, but he realises that the members of his team may be more competent than him on the latest technologies and may be as hungry for success and as confident as he is. He has more and more difficulty imposing his management style and has started to worry that he might not be accepted as a leader anymore. Indeed, his team members are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with his overly controlling style and have started to respond passively, waiting for a change of manager.

In this and the next two articles, I propose to take you through the three steps that Stefano could take to shift his management style from making unilateral decisions to leveraging the collective knowledge and intelligence of his team.   

The first step that Stefano should take to change his management style and build a psychologically safe environment for his team is to understand why he makes his decisions in isolation.

• Stefano has worked hard for CERN for many years and has made many tough decisions, which have brought him to his current position. Because he is very experienced, Stefano is in the habit of trusting his gut reaction when it comes to making decisions. Stefano does not realise that, by doing so, he is depriving himself of the input, data, expertise and diverse perspectives that his team and other stakeholders could bring him.
• Stefano needs to reflect on how his authoritative decision-making style is perceived by his supervisees. Making decisions without seeking the views of others sends the message: “I don’t value your opinion”. The team members, like Stefano himself, need to feel trusted, valued, recognised and relevant. By taking decisions on his own, Stefano loses the buy-in and accountability that collaborative decision making would grant him.
• It is also possible that Stefano believes that his position in the hierarchy entitles him to make unilateral decisions. This might also be encouraged by messages from his own hierarchy. However, Stefano needs to take a step back and reconsider this. Position authority, i.e. the authority that comes solely from an individual’s position in the Organization, is weak. The strongest authority is one that comes with collaborative management and the recognition of the values of each member of a diverse team.
• Finally, Stefano may also be over-confident in his abilities to make the right decision. This often comes with a successful career in the Laboratory. However, the danger is that Stefano may overestimate his abilities, knowledge and judgment. Neglecting the input of others could lead Stefano to take risks and make wrong and costly decisions.

Reflecting on these possible beliefs could help Stefano understand why he needs to feel in control and why he takes unilateral decisions. 

In the next Ombud’s Corner article, we will meet Stefano again, as he determines how he wishes to reposition himself as a leader.

Laure Esteveny

* Name is fictitious.

NB:  would like to hear your reactions and suggestions – join the CERN Ombud Mattermost team at https://mattermost.web.cern.ch/cern-ombud/.