First of all, you should know that the gluteus maximus is the main muscle of the hip. It is the single largest muscle in the human body with a thick fleshy mass and forms the buttocks. Its large size is one of the most characteristic features of the muscular system in humans, connected as it is with the power of maintaining the trunk in the erect posture.[1]
We could have put this question less euphemistically and asked: Why do leaders need to keep their ass in gear? For us, keeping your ass in gear means having the courage and impetus to act effectively and drive things forward. Being a leader needs an upright posture to shoulder the responsibility for the people dependent on you, to shape and propel business doings on a daily basis. And this requires a well-trained gluteus maximus – that holds the root of your backbone – and leaders definitely need backbone to face the inevitable challenges, both internal and external, with assertion and confidence. […]
But let’s stick with the positive examples for now and tell you about Oliver, a director on the automobile supplier sector. Oliver started out as a plant manager at one location, rapidly gaining responsibility for other plant sites. In the meantime, he’s been promoted to director and has five plant locations in his care. When things get hot at any of his plants, Oliver is there at the drop of hat, immediately supporting his workers up close and personal.
In his earlier days, when he was given more responsibility and more factories, his dedication to each workforce at every site had gained a certain notoriety within the corporation. Including issues that were not directly associated with production, per se. If a plant didn’t have enough employee parking, he badgered and pestered the main office until the parking lot was expanded, he also made sure his employees had a sufficiently supplied cafeteria.
“When my people come to their shifts, they shouldn’t have to circle the area for a half an hour just to park their cars,” Oliver lectured his superiors. “And since they only have a half-hour for lunch, they should have a decent place to sit and get a warm meal. If there’s no cafeteria, or it’s closed during the night shift, we need a battery of microwaves so they can heat up the meals they brought from home. The plant I’m at now has one single microwave for 250 workers. It’s a disgrace! We urgently need to stock more microwaves, and I mean now. We’ll toss out those lousy roll automats – the crap they spit out isn’t fit for human consumption, and certainly not good enough for my people!” Oliver did not mince his words when it came to his employees and they repaid him with dedicated productivity.
But it was when Oliver assumed responsibility for the fifth of his five plants that he strained his superiors’ patience to the ultimate limit. From their point of view, Oliver did absolutely nothing for the first four weeks. Yes, he was at the plant and yes, he was adopting his new responsibility in a most effective, if uncommon, way. Oliver was doing precisely what we demand a good leader should do to make sure plant and main office are playing on the same team (Question 19): Oliver spent the entire first two weeks in production. The first week he worked with the day shift, the second with the night shift. Afterwards, he held one-on-one talks with every single factory employee.
Subsequently, at the beginning of September, Oliver took his plan for the final quarter and the next two year and presented it to the corporation executives. “Sounds good,” the vice president agreed. “But we need everything you’ve listed this year, in the final quarter.” Oliver calmly repeated his plan word for word and the vice president reiterated: “I understand what you’re saying, but we need all of it this year.”
Undeterred, Oliver repeated his plan for the third time. “Maybe we’re hitting a language barrier,” the vice president said, since the negotiation was taking place in English. “We need the results you’re presenting by December 31st this year.”
“There’s no language barrier,” Oliver replied. “I understand you completely. But in that case, you need a new plant director. You want the same thing from me that you wanted from my two predecessors and, obviously, it isn’t working. If you want to get a handle on this location, you either do it my way or not at all.” It takes an ass firmly in gear and the corresponding backbone to offer your executives your resignation after four short weeks at your new post! Oliver was well aware that he was possibly kissing his promotion to director good-bye, and maybe even his job altogether. But Oliver was, and is, fearless.
“Okay, let me offer the following suggestion. You can still toss me out at the end of the year if I fail to deliver what I’ve promised in this plan. But if we hit our target by December 31st, you can be sure I will uphold my commitments for the next two years.”
Oliver’s courage and conviction paid off. The executives agreed to his plans, albeit reluctantly. Today, the failing, unproductive factory is running smoothly and well. Without his ass in gear, without his backbone, his superiors’ reaction would have taken an altogether different path: They would have rejected his plan, assuming Oliver had even had the guts to present it. The final consequence would be shutting down the plant and a major loss of jobs.
There are times when a leader must choose the unpopular solution and – just like us in our advisory position – get tactlessly to the point. It’s part of the job description. When there’s a mission to be fulfilled, when the survival of a team or company is at stake, you cannot be a yellowbelly. If you are, then you have to face the bitter truth: you have no business being a leader. A leader must have the spine to withstand setbacks and adversity without crumbling at the slightest resistance. […]
If you choose to work in this highly charged area, no matter the position, you should certainly make sure your largest muscle – your gluteus maximus – is well-oiled and firmly supporting your backbone to get you through the back-breaking situations that come with the job. And while we’re talking anatomy, there’s no harm in having a good pair of metaphorical cojones, gender-neutral, of course!
An excerpt from the book “Leadership is More – 27 Questions We Too Can Answer” written by Gianni, Jan & Marcello Liscia, 2022
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluteus_maximus, accessed Nov. 1, 2022.
