This is an odd post.  It ties in moments before I launched the Next Level Purchasing Association with moments experienced after I sold the organization to the Certitrek Group.

Since the Certitrek Group acquired the Next Level Purchasing Association, much has changed.  One of those things is my status.  I have stayed on board as a contracted, part-time consultant.  Another of those things is our headquarters office, which is emptied as the new ownership eyes up to new digs, growth and global expansion.

I was recently asked to clean out any of my belongings that remained at the headquarters.  As I did so, I came across a pile of pages from my old Franklin Planner.  Using a Franklin Planner was how we kept track of our appointments, notes, etc., before the smartphone for the millennial readers out there.

Not having seen these pages in 17 years, I wasted no time moving them towards the trash pile.  But my attention was immediately drawn to three pages of notes.  They were about the boss I had in the job before me, dedicating myself full-time to growing the Next Level Purchasing Association.

Each page had a heading that was the boss’ initials and a bad leadership trait.  Under each heading were examples of incidents where the boss demonstrated the trait in the workplace.  These were traits that made me hate my job and want to leave it.

Identify the Issues

The bad leadership traits were:

• Micromanagement;
• Mercuriality; and
• “Dirt”

Micromanagement is pretty self-explanatory.  It’s where a boss gets overly involved in directing a subordinate’s work, to the point where the subordinate is given no creative discretion as to how the work should be done.  Employees hate micromanagement.  True leaders step back and let their employees bring their unique talents to the table.

Frequent mood changes, direction characterize mercuriality, thinking, etc., often going from one extreme to the other and back again.  If a procurement director told you to issue an RFP, then told you to cancel it and negotiate with the incumbent, then told you to reissue the RFP, that’s an example of mercuriality.  Employees hate mercuriality.  True leaders either (a) thoroughly think through decisions before giving directions or (b) have an innate ability to make the right decision quickly.

Either way, anyone hoping to be a true leader should endeavor almost always to give directions and let the decided-on process run until successful completion.  That’s not to say that one should never adjust course.  If you learn that a path you’ve gone down is a mistake, you should make corrections.  But, if you’re always adjusting course – especially reversing and re-reversing directions – it’s probably because you’re giving directions before you have made the right decisions.

“Dirt,” as I described it, is inappropriate behavior.  Some of the things I documented were things like the boss showing me photos of topless women he took on vacation, using the “F” word in conversations, saying he didn’t want to hire a certain candidate for a job because of his advanced age, and wearing an Everlast punching bag sign he printed after a meeting with his boss, who apparently was critical of him.  Inappropriate behavior has no place in the workplace.  The leader who gets maximum respect is the leader who holds his behavior to a higher standard than the average employee.  My boss’s behavior was way below the standard of the average employee.

So, to motivate and inspire – rather than demotivate and disgust – employees:

Take Action!

• Empower, don’t micromanage
• Base directions to employees on sound decisions so you don’t have to be mercurial.
• Behave above the standard for appropriateness in the workplace

Despite being 17 years old, that’s still pretty solid leadership advice from the trash pile.

Become a member of one of the world’s largest procurement associations today.

Recommended Reading

• Next Generation Procurement Talent Management
• Priorities in Supply Chain Leadership
• Are You Chief Procurement Officer Material?

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