I was watching a programme about Lemmy, the lead singer from the band Motörhead on TV last night. The programme was a virtual ‘who’s who’ from the world of rock and roll, with many stars commenting on Lemmy’s place in the world of rock music and the scene in Los Angeles. A number of contributors made the point that Lemmy is a genuine “bad ass”, meaning that he does whatever he likes and doesn’t care what anybody else thinks. This got me thinking.. What can leaders and managers learn from Lemmy?
And the answer presents itself quite simply. All too often today leaders and managers worry about how others expect them to behave. They try and work out “the game” and act and think based on what they believe others expect of them.
But this is not authentic and usually ends up in employees and peers noticing that the manager or leader has a little ‘act’ or ‘routine’ that they go through while at work.
What’s striking about the Lemmy programme and all the comments from his Music industry peers is that people really respect him. While they say that they respect him for being a “total badass” really what comes out strongly is a respect for Lemmy because he’s just being who he really is.
Lemmy is not perfect, none of us are. So he just keeps true to who he is and people love and admire that about him.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if managers and leaders just stuck to being who they really area at work, instead of trying to behave, speak, and think according to what they think would please others?
You can find out about the Lemmy programme here.
Justin's 'Just One Thing..' 