Each year while I attended college, the student body elected the editor-in-chief of the weekly newspaper. But, the English Department, in order to maintain some consistent level of quality from year to year, appointed the managing editor.
The managing editor had to work as harmoniously as possible with the editor-in-chief and with all the section editors that the editor-in-chief appointed. But ultimately, the managing editor reported to the head of the English Department, Dr. Josephine G. Rickard (known affectionately as "Doc Jo"). I had the privilege of serving as managing editor for two years. It was an amazing learning experience.
One particular section editor sticks in my mind. She was a firebrand of enthusiasm backed up with hard work. I made it my practice to stop by the newspaper office first thing in the morning, during the noon hour, and last thing at night. Seldom did I arrive at the office and find that she was not hard at work. I remember asking her once if she ever went to class.
In spite of her diligence, she exhibited one quality that almost completely nullified her efforts. She seemed to have an overwhelming need to control every aspect of her section's creativity. It's important to note that because she had inherited her sub-editors from a previous section editor, she was working with a staff that she did not select.
As the year wore on, I began to notice that her section editors would often meet somewhere other than the newspaper office. Once, when encountering the sub-editors holding a strategy meeting in the foyer of the Chapel, I asked them why they were meeting there rather than the newspaper office.
"We've found it's better to brainstorm off-site and then take our completed plan back to the office to present to the section editor. That gives us the opportunity to hash out the details and then come with a united front."
"United front?" I queried.
"Yeah. If we come with a united front, she's less likely to completely shoot down our plan."
I walked away from this exchange deciding to make certain I was in the office for the next section meeting to see if I could observe what was sowing an apparent seed of discord. Soon enough, the section gathered to plan a special feature. I sat in the corner, explaining that my presence was part of the evaluation process for which I had responsibility.
Right away I saw the problem. Every time one of the sub-editors began to explain some portion of the proposed feature, the section editor would interrupt with the words, "Whose idea was that?"
Apparently having rowed through this particular sea before, two or more of the sub-editors would answer in unison, "We came up with the idea together."
"Yes," the section editor would respond, "But who came up with the original idea. Whose idea was it?"
The sub-editors would insist that they had arrived at the idea together. Their answer did not seem to satisfy the section editor. But, she would permit them to move ahead with their presentation.
When they finished their explanation of how they would develop the new feature, the editor closed the meeting by saying that she would get back to them the next day. I was aghast. In the newspaper business a section editor doesn't have the luxury of taking even a few hours to make a decision. A section editor must develop a very decisive decision-making process.
Nevertheless, I decided to attend the next day's meeting. When the time came around, the section editor and her sub-editors gathered. Instead of accepting the proposed feature as the sub-editors had created it, the editor came to the meeting with a significantly modified plan.
Again, I was aghast. From my perspective of much more experience in putting together a newspaper than any of those present, I thought the proposal from the sub-editors was brilliant. It had all the creative elements that a section editor should look for in a feature. In contrast, the proposal from the section editor did not have nearly the spark and verve that the original proposal had. Frankly, it was sort of lifeless.
As the meeting ended, I cornered one of the more senior sub-editors and asked to meet with her privately. When we met, I bluntly asked, "Are all your meetings like that? Does the section editor ever accept one of your proposals without changing it dramatically?"
The sub-editor explained that every meeting was just like the one I observed. Each single meeting became two meetings. In the first, the sub-editors would present their proposal. In the second, the section editor would present her modified version.
I asked the sub-editor for a fleshout on the history of the "Whose idea was this?" bantering. She explained that, early in their relationship with the section editor, they learned that no one person should acknowledge ownership of an idea. Any idea coming from a single individual was rejected out-of-hand by the editor.
I thanked the sub-editor for her candor. Next, I asked to meet with the section editor.
In my meeting, I asked the section editor why she was so concerned about who came up with any particular idea. "I'm the editor," she responded. "The section is my responsibility. I don't want anyone else claiming responsibility for something that's my job. I was appointed because of my creativity. I'm the boss of the section and I have the final say."
I then spent over a half-hour trying to reason with the section editor. I talked about teamwork. I explained that she had very competent sub-editors who had served the previous section editor extremely well. They had all the knowledge and skill needed to run the section. All they needed from her was her support and her willingness to trust them to do what they knew how to do.
Sadly, she would have none of it. I next contacted the elected editor-in-chief and asked to meet with her. At our meeting, I laid out what I had observed. She explained that she was very fond of the section editor. After all, she had appointed the section editor and considered her a friend.
I explained that if she allowed this pattern to continue, the section would suffer and, likely, the sub-editors would resign. She had to choose between supporting her friend or making a decision for the good of the newspaper.
I waited to see what would happen. The editor-in-chief decided to take no action. As I had predicted, in just a few weeks, letters of complaint began to arrive about the uselessness of the section of the newspaper. Because I had filed a written report of the incident with "Doc Jo," the English Department was aware of what might happen.
Doc Jo summoned the editor-in-chief and me to a meeting. "I understand you are receiving complaints about a section in your newspaper," Doc Jo began the meeting. "What do you intend to do about it?"
"I'm not sure," the editor-in-chief replied. "I've talked to the section editor about the complaints. She tells me that the complainers just don't have any taste. She says that she knows what's best for the section and that there really is no need to do anything. She claims she has it all under control and asked me to just trust her."
"Did you find that answer satisfactory?" Doc Jo asked.
"I'm not sure. I've read the complaints and those who wrote seem to have some good points. I just don't know what to do."
"Mr. Wilson," Doc Jo turned her attention to me. (She always called me "Mr. Wilson" except one time, just before I graduated, when she spoke to me as, "Dear Dean.") "Do you have any suggestions for the editor-in-chief?"
"Yes," I replied. "Replace the section editor immediately. She does not appear to the have the necessary leadership ability to develop a smoothly operating team. The teamwork is critically necessary for the section and for the entire newspaper."
"Did you hear what Mr. Wilson recommended?" Doc Jo asked the editor-in-chief.
"Yes," the editor replied.
"Then do it!" Doc Jo said, ending the meeting.
In any business situation, a supervisor must integrate with and build a team in order to truly succeed. Any supervisor, willing to learn, can learn how to integrate with and build a team.
The more freedom a supervisor gives his or her team members to be creative, the more dynamic the results. It doesn't matter who comes up with an idea! If the team analyzes and polishes that idea, it becomes the team's idea. Worrying about the ownership of an idea is usually a foolish venture. And, a supervisor who must be the source of every idea is wasting company time.
In virtually every work situation, the most expendable member of the team is the supervisor. Good team members are really hard to come by. Supervisors are a dime a dozen. Whenever a supervisor cannot build an effective team, especially when he or she is given team members who have proven their value and worth through past performance under some other leader, then it's time to replace the supervisor.
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we have the most magnificent example of a team leader in the Lord Jesus, Himself. Study carefully the passages in the Gospels that describe His interaction with His team, the disciples. Notice how He related to them. See how He allowed them to grow and develop. After all, He knew that once He returned to the Father, the disciples would have to carry out His work on earth.
As the Apostle Paul urges us in Philippians 2:1-11,
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus..."
I learned many, many valuable lessons from Doc Jo and from the experience I gained during college as the managing editor of the newspaper. But, this particular lesson has served me very well down through the years. It doesn't matter who thought up an idea. Every creative impulse comes from God as a gift to those He loves.
And, it most certainly doesn't matter who gets credit for an idea. If we're working as a team, every success belongs to all of us, just as every failure belongs to all of us. We succeed and fail together.
That's what true leadership is all about. True leadership that consistently honors the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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