The Power Vacuum: Your boss has moved on and a successor has yet to be appointed. Suddenly nobody is quite sure what to do
Good leadership provides direction and purpose for our team. Great leaders direct our efforts to where they will have the greatest impact. They help us to work together by making the tough calls and keeping us on track. An effective leader is a stabilising and motivating influence on us. They enable us to perform and help us enhance our career.
But, what happens when they leave unexpectedly? What was once taken for granted has been thrown into uncertainty. We may feel dazed and confused. Senior management is often slow to replace our leader and is unable to fill the gap left in the short term. As the Power Vacuum left by our leader becomes evident, old rivalries can re-emerge and some will take advantage What was once agreed between us, can come up for debate and argument again. How are we to protect ourselves and continue to do good work in the Power Vacuum?
Sophia’s Dilemma
“It’s all a bit of a mystery really. Donna came in one day and announced that she was leaving that day by mutual agreement. We were shocked to say the least. Most of us believed she was secure and got on well with the president. Naturally we pressed her for more info but she was reluctant to say more, citing a confidentiality agreement and changing the subject.”
“That was a couple of weeks ago. We still don’t know what is going on and the rumours are starting to circulate, as they do. Best guess seems to be she really upset Al in some way – he’s the president.”
“But the point is Al is almost as absent as Donna and he hasn’t left the company — at least I don’t think he has! We had some tough targets this year which required us to really pull together as a team; not only in sales but also the other functions. Donna was critical to getting the other parts of the business to cooperate and now that she’s gone they don’t even respond to instant messages.”
“So that leaves us in a mess. If we carry on like this we’ll be lucky to keep our jobs at the end of the year, let alone get a bonus: the figures are that bad. We’re all strong characters and feel passionately about what we should be doing – but lately we don’t seem to be able to agree on anything. Two of my colleagues, Jane and Bill, keep taking cheap shots at each other. I imagine they are both competing to get Donnas’ job, but nothing has been said about her replacement either.”
“If only Al would get off his butt and give us some clear direction I’m sure we could still turn this around and create success by the end of the year.”
Sophia Donaldson, Head of Direct Sales
Consider:
- How was Donna’s power assisting the team?
- What options should Sophia consider?
- If you were in Sophia’s shoes, what would you do?
Answers
No two people look at politics in an identical way. The critical thing is that you exercise your thinking on these case studies and practice thinking things through and planning the action that you would take, if you were to face this situation. This is a key aspect of our Mastering the Politics course. When you are on this course, we will take you through all the steps you need to take to handle the politics with ease. Included in this, you will get comprehensive answers to all of these case studies.
Mastering the Politics
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