Yes-men? Who are they? The Cambridge Dictionary defines a Yes-man as “a person who agrees with everything their employer, leader, etc. says to please them”. You can see here how a manager loses his effectiveness in the presence of his yes-men.
Manager and yes-men
A Manager does not go to the shop floor alone. He always likes the company of Yes-men around him. Even if you go to his office, you will not find him alone. What will you see? You will see him busy with them. So you will not open your mouth there to ask for support from him. Even you can not approach him on the shop floor too. You know why? It is due to the presence of the yes-men. What do they do? Even when their manager gives some unrealistic idea, they will praise his concept too. To please him, they often use the words like”Yes Sir, Excellent idea, Sir or you are great, Sir and so on.”
In other words, they flatter him. But he does not realise it. He does not understand that they are not helping him; instead, they are hindering him. So he goes comfortable with them and depends on them. He can not think of his work-life without them. How? He can not manage problems alone. Before he asks, one of them gives the ready-made solution. So he does not think at all. He who does not think can not analyse the day to day problem. So in the long run, he stops learning. You know an effective Manager learns from every problem and every situation. More he allows yes-men to surround him; more he loses his effectiveness.
Please keep in mind that the yes-men are not followers of a leader.
Call to action
So beware of yes-men around you. They stop you from growing as a manager. So keep them away from you and improve your managerial effectiveness.