Politics Made Simple: The Overprotective

Dan McCarthy just posted a great primer on leadership styles in which he walks through a couple different models of leadership.

But what happens when you have to deal with one of these people? That’s when you need something more—something less focused on how your manager will treat you and more focused on how your manager will respond to you.

On the high control end of the spectrum, one type of individual you’ll have to deal with is the “overprotective,” aka the Mother Hen, Benign Dictator, or Dad of the Team.

Recognizing an Overprotective

You may not know that you’re dealing with an Overprotective right away. They are very often sweet on the surface. But they put a premium on the status quo, and if you try to change, they will block your path sure as if they were made of stone: they will tell you the time’s not right, that you’re not ready, that it’s too risky. They’ll say it nicely, but no matter how often you push the issue, they’ll never change. And they probably won’t even tell you what criteria they’re using to judge “readiness” or “risk.”

Working with an Overprotective

Ask for help! If you need something from an Overprotective, be prepared to swallow your ego and ask for help. Because while they’ll never see you as ready for the next step, they’ll always see themselves as responsible for your well being. Also, be prepared to make your own breaks: if you report to an Overprotective, you will likely have to wait a long, long, long time for a chance to get out of your pigeon-hole.

You won’t change the Overprotective. You’ll need to convince them to support you or find a way around them.

Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.