I see some strange leadership models as I travel the country. One that I often run into is “Not Knowing.”

There are two sides to “Not Knowing.”

1. Upper management, owners, owner/operators or dealers have a plan in place to keep the staff in the dark. They only want them to know what they consider are those things that they think they need to know. They don’t teach, they don’t coach, they don’t lead; they just say do your little job, pat them on their head, send them on their way and frequently pay them very well.

In addition, upper management doesn’t seek out B players to help turn them into A players. And thus the B players don’t seek out the C players to help them get to the B level. The theory is by keeping people in the dark they will perform their assigned jobs better.

2. Managers don’t bother to learn. They don’t seek out information. They come to work, do their job and go home.

I’m often appalled, surprised and shocked when I ask questions at all levels and people don’t have the answers. It occurs at the top and down the chain of command. I’m not talking complicated questions.

I will sometimes ask the most basic question and people don’t know the answer. I’m left to assume:

1. They don’t care enough to know.
2. They just don’t have the knowledge to know.
3. People don’t know what they don’t know.

In all cases, these are the same people who complain about things that never get done around here. No one is held accountable. There are no consequences when people don’t perform.

What else can you expect when you don’t know? That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs