The Bear: Lessons in Leadership

The Bear: A Lesson in Leadership

This past week, my family and I enjoyed a relaxing vacation at a resort nestled between a lake and a mountain forest. Upon checking into our cabin, we were informed of a bear sighting on the resort premises.

During our introductory meal, the staff explained that the bear was an adolescent male, the offspring of a mother bear that had frequented the area about two years earlier. They provided us with safety instructions, outlining what we should and shouldn’t do in case of an encounter. Despite the heightened concern, I sensed that most guests felt safe going about their daily activities.

Throughout our stay, we often heard bear horns warning the creature of its unwelcome presence, although it always kept its distance, remaining on the other side of the camp.
Then, three days in, we spotted the bear in the woods behind our cottage. It was early afternoon, and the bear seemed relaxed as it enjoyed a meal of berries. We watched until it disappeared deeper into the trees.

That night, unbeknownst to us, the bear ventured into a nearby cottage, helped itself to a snack, and left quite a mess. The shocked family that discovered the aftermath the following morning was quite taken aback.

Later that day, a bear trap was strategically placed between our cottage and the woods. It wasn’t long before the bear was caught, and within an hour, the resort’s biologist relocated it to parts unknown.

This experience led me to reflect on how we manage the “bears” in our workplaces—those individuals whose performance raises red flags without causing immediate disruptions. Perhaps it’s the customer service representative who isn’t friendly, the manager who struggles to collaborate, or the executive who shares off-color jokes.

Many leaders, overwhelmed with responsibilities, rationalize that since these individuals aren’t directly harming the company, they can afford to let their subpar performance slide. However, as I learned from our encounter with the bear, sometimes the quiet problems can escalate into situations that require immediate intervention. It’s crucial for us to recognize these challenges before they become bigger issues that can affect the morale and culture of our teams.

The other week I was working with a client, we were doing a leadership retreat to build trust within the leadership team. During the week, I started to notice that one of the individuals had strong opinions, and worse, no one was willing to challenge his authority. In conversations, I realized this was the norm. Back at work, if they had a new idea or new concept, they would not involve him in the conversations; they would just work around him. It had gotten so bad that major organizational issues were being ignored.

Luckily the CEO had realized that there was an issue, and had brought me into help them fix it. Bears exist in every organization. Sometimes they are not a person, but a process, system or software that isn’t working as it should, and everyone is waiting until there is a complete failure before they fix it.

Don’t wait. Things, issues, and conflicts(the bears) are easier to deal with when they are small instead of waiting.

John

John Thalheimer is an award-winning management consultant, sought-out workshop facilitator, and author who has helped hundreds of businesses and thousands of professionals transform their potential into extraordinary performance. His lifelong pursuit is helping managers be better equipped to take their organizations to the next level. And he passionately advocates organizations about the importance of the manager’s role in the business’s outcomes.