The negative impact of a Workaholic Leader?

It was interesting to come across the coinage of Workaholic Leader today. I have often wondered about the people termed as workaholics.

• Why do they do so much work?
• Don’t they have anything better to do?
• What else would they be doing if not work?

The theoretical lines of question can go on. But at some point I do have to admit – there’s a workaholic in me too who needs conscious intervention.

Is a Workaholic bad for the organization?

It is fascinating to see leaders being quite proud of their workaholics in the team. Although on some levels they are great to achieve some of the targets, they do pose some challenges.

• How do you keep them constantly motivated?
• Are they sufficiently recognized?

More importantly, if we are treating them differently:

• Are we being fair to the non workaholics?
• Is it setting a bad precedent for others in the organization?

These certainly are not easy questions to answer. As a leader, we ought to think about the overall organisation. We cannot afford to treat the workaholic kinder in relation to the others.

An organizational success lies in the collective of a team. It is great to look at high performing teams and aim to create one ourselves. But, a team cannot have one person develop at the cost of others.

How bad is it to work under a workaholic leader?

Surely we have all come across the workaholics in many walks of life. Today’s post is dedicated to the workaholic leader within us and its key strategic impacts in the long run.

I have had the opportunity to work with both a good and a bad workaholic leader. The bad one had a problem when I left office at 9PM in the night. The good one knew how to maintain his distance.

To be fair, I think it is a very hard differentiation to make. If a person is a workaholic, it is their individual problem. It becomes an organisational concern if the leader expects everyone in the team to match their workaholic trend.

If you are a leader who associates themselves with a workaholic leader, then perhaps it is an opportunity to reconsider.