Research Confirms It: Nice Guys Really Do Finish Last

A long line of research showing that leaders who pay attention to
their people, treat them with dignity and base decisions on accurate
information are among the most effective–at least at mid-manager
levels. Their people celebrate their fairness as a leader. They love
working for managers like that.

But an absolutely intriguing piece of research by Wiesenfeld, Rothman
and Galinsky finds that these leaders typically fall behind in their
own careers. The research report in the July-August HBR included
lab studies as well as responses from hundreds of corporate decision
makers and employees began with the old question, “Should leaders be
loved or feared?” But it went on asking, “Can you have both respect and
power?”

The studies showed that when it comes time for promotion, the
candidates who get the job typically demonstrate a “toughness” about
them. And the research found that to be the case in a wide variety of
industries. That set of behaviors did not benefit managers who are
especially fair with their employees. The obvious conclusion is that you
can’t have both respect and power, so choose your poison. (Actually,
you’ve probably long-since chosen your poison. It was shaped over time
by your life experiences.)

The researchers did find in follow-up studies that those beloved
managers can gain power, although that may be a difficult path upward.
Of course, promoting the tough guy may not necessarily be the right move
for the organization. So organizations need to look closely at the
issue of whom they’re promoting.

This is the kind of research you may not like to see or admit. Still,
reflecting on their conclusion and my own consulting experiences, I was
drawn to the findings of David McClelland and his learned needs theory,
emphasizing achievement, affiliation or power. McClelland’s research
supports the study of fair bosses falling behind.

My experience reveals that the really fair guys, whom people love to
work for, tend to be highly affiliative in their orientation. That is,
they need harmonious relationships with other people and need to be
accepted by others. They also tend to conform to the norms of their work
group. As I thought through nearly 500 executive clients that I’ve
worked with over the years on a long-term basis, few of them are
especially affiliative. Indeed, I can point to only eight or ten that
achieved at senior-vice president and the C-Office. Clearly this is
anecdotal evidence and should be treated as such, but it supports the
findings of the studies on fair bosses. 

In contrast, by far the bulk of the senior execs tend to be oriented
to power, not affiliation or achievement. Following McClelland’s theory,
the power may be personal, oriented to directing others. The kind that
can be quite undesirable and manifest itself in the manager you don’t
want to work for. But the bulk of execs at senior levels in the better
companies demonstrate a high need for institutional power. They want to
organizative the efforts of their people to enhance the goals of the
organization. 

One client, newly promoted to VP in a major consumer products
company, left me with a fascinating comment. The CEO, she said, was
“utterly ruthless.” But, she went on, “that gives me a lot of comfort
because I know our company will always do well in competition with other
organizations.” I knew the CEO personally. A nice guy with a velvet
covered fist. I had a lot of respect for him and agreed with her
assessment. I had watched him fire a couple of his close friends who
weren’t delivering up-to-snuff. It was a wise move for the company.

You can only conclude that if you’re a fair manager or boss, you’re
probably shooting yourself in the foot. There’s a ceiling over you
that’s liable to be pretty impenetrable. Respect and liking can get you a
long way, but probably not into the C-Office suites.

The study, however, did give hope to those “fair bosses” who want to
learn the intricacies of power management. Power, like negotiation,
leadership, and communication is a learnable skill. It takes time, but
it’s doable. However, it’ll inevitably result in a different balance of
relationships with your subordinates.

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