getting squeezed as a business leader
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“Paranoid?
Probably.
But just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean there isn’t an invisible demon about to eat your face.”
―
Jim Butcher
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“Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there’s no room for the present at all.”
—
Evelyn Waugh
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“Panic is the sudden realization that everything around you is alive.”
―
William S. Burroughs
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Ok. This is about life as a business leader.
I do not care how good you are as a business leader, you will get squeezed. If you suck, you get squeezed often. If you are good, you only get squeezed on occasion. But good or bad … all business leaders get squeezed at some point.
What do I mean by squeezed?
In general, the responsibility world, as viewed by a manager, is a fairly vast place because it rarely is defined solely by direct reports or even full departments you manage but rather all dimensions emanating outwards from every decision you, or your employees, may make.
The good news about this is that within all that vastness there is a lot of room to let some of the more horrible or horribly mundane crap just slip by.
The bad news occurs when all of a sudden the world shrinks and you feel squeezed and evaluated by the what you had considered fairly mundane up until that moment.
And this can happen a lot easier than one may think.
Between politics in the office, relentless evaluation from outside the organization as well as inside the organization and the normal ebbs & flows of everyday business which seem to almost simultaneously uncover grains of truth and cover grains of truth the vastness of what you actually do can become small pretty quickly under all this scrutiny.
And, if you are not careful, you get squeezed into … well … not nothingness but certainly “lessness.”
I would suggest any manager worth a shit will almost always fight back <or respond> to getting squeezed. It is almost a survival instinct, but it can also be an ego instinct.
Regardless. You gotta sharpen your elbows and create some space for yourself in between what all the scrutiny is suggesting <which often feels a lot like demanding> and what your current role is outlining as the right way to think and behave.
But here is the hard part. And it is kind of surprisingly hard.
It is fairly easy to sharpen your elbows and fight back, but without some thought you are simply fighting — fighting with no purpose other than it feels good to fight <or you are fighting simply out of thoughtless, or less than thoughtful, survival>.
And while fighting back in and of itself is somewhat satisfying because you feel like you should … it is less than satisfying because it has no real focus or purpose. It doesn’t have any ‘long game’ aspects involved <and if you have any desire to be a good leader/manager you have to be able to view beyond the present moment>.
I would argue this is where ‘knowing what you want and knowing who you are rears its ugly head.
Suffice it to say when you get squeezed you are gonna respond in some way.
You have to. Because if you are a manager managing the shit in the present it is a fairly small window in which to work. That small window gets even smaller if you are getting squeezed by the past and future challenges. This is what you will inevitably see as some response options:
- Tripling down on what you believe makes you look good <this is image … putting on a good face … “talking the talk”>.
The risk on this one is that … well … you may be trying to look good on something you may not actually look good doing. In addition. If you are a crappy actor people ll see what you are trying to do.
- Doubling down on what you are actually good at <usually with words and sometime directing people to do shit>.
The risk on this one is that what you are good at may not actually be what is needed to get out of the squeeze. You are definitely, and defiantly, playing to your strengths but it just may not be what it takes to penetrate the weakness in the squeeze.
- Flee <absolve of responsibility>.
The risk in this is you are a leader & a manager and you have absolved yourself of responsibility. If you cannot make the responsibility stick with someone else, I can guarantee that the responsibility will stick with you like your shadow wherever you flee.
- Find a different enemy so that the squeeze decides to go elsewhere.
The risk in this is being “anti” something is pretty easy but standing for something is really hard <and most people know that>. I could actually suggest in some ways being anti is lazy.
So. All of that leads me to the best way to get out of a squeeze.
- Stand for something.
The risk in this is, well, there is not really a shitload of risk unless you elect to stand for something stupid, bad or idiotic. But if you do this right … convince yourself that what you are standing for is something worthwhile but also mentally accept it may not perfectly align with your group norms as well as societal norms … but still be the right thing to stand for.
All that said. Unfortunately getting squeezed can also encourage another outcome & response – paranoia.
In fact … I almost called this paranoia (enemies everywhere). I almost did that because paranoia is possibly the worst reflective response to being squeezed. What I mean is that once you have been squeezed a portion of you may start worrying that there is some hidden cabal or agenda ‘out to get you.’
But I did not call it that because paranoia is only one possible response to getting squeezed.
I would suggest that paranoid carries a fairly negative connotation. The reality is having a slight thread of paranoia <lets say “proportionate to your depth of confidence”> can often keep your head out of your own ass and more on a swivel watching what is going on around you. Some would suggest it keeps you aware of your “what if” muscle. I would suggest it can keep your “if it can go wrong, it will” muscle.
Paranoia, when living in a healthy state, often helps your view of all the potential outcomes and solutions, with a thought of “proactiveness” to head off shit before it even exists. Obviously, if paranoia is your only response to being squeezed and is your constant state of mind, that is neither healthy for you or the organization.
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“Paranoia is just the bastard child of fear and good sense.” (Charlie)
“Poor thing. Let’s adopt it, give it a last name and raise it right.” (Jace)
“You want to get it a puppy, too?”
“Sure. We’ll call it Panic. It and little Paranoia can play together at the park and scare the hell out of all the other kids.”
D.D. Barant
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In the end, all managers and leaders get squeezed at some point. I would also suggest that how you navigate ‘the squeeze’ early in your management career will set you on a certain type of path with regard to how you manage being squeezed. And, just like with any pattern, the more often something works the more likely you will be to continue doing it.
Yes.
I will agree that sometimes a new challenge later on in Life will force someone to reflect and ‘rise to the occasion’ and shed some of the lesser aspects of who and what they may have been up to that point, but most people just stick with what they believe got them to where they are.
All I can say is that being squeezed has a tendency to squeeze out whatever character you may have within – some will be disappointed by what is squeezed out and some will be pleased. Just know that whatever is squeezed out can be seen by everyone.
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