Supportive Leader Stops Micromanaging His Staff
I had the pleasure of working with the leader of a company (let’s call him Thomas) who had a great staff of people who did amazing work and seemed content. Despite the generally positive work environment, he noticed that his employees would become somewhat withdrawn or reserved when he was around or offered guidance. He wanted to figure out why this was happening and how he could fix it.
Through corresponding with Thomas, I could tell that he was a caring leader who supported his staff and wanted to find ways to improve his workplace culture. It wasn’t so much that there was any huge problem going on, he just needed some fresh ideas to improve how he related to his staff. Here are some things I noticed about Thomas.
His Strengths
- Supportive and caring.
- Open to change.
- Compensates employees well and provides benefits.
- Seeks employee feedback.
- Wants to help employees grow.
- Tries his best at all times.
Areas for Improvement
- Let employees do their work without checking on them.
- Trust that work will be done well even if it’s not exactly how he would do it.
What We Worked on Improving
Thomas was a kind person who genuinely had the best interest of his staff in mind and was willing to adapt, which is one of the qualities that made him a good leader. His employees liked him and morale was good at the company. After corresponding for some time, it became apparent that Thomas was so driven to do well that he let it ooze onto others, which caused his staff to feel like their way of doing things wasn’t good enough or that he didn’t trust them to do a good job—so they would shut down a bit when he was around. To address this dynamic, I created a methodology Thomas could follow to learn how to give people space and trust them to do well. Each time he kindheartedly felt like he needed to offer guidance, he instead told himself to take a step back and let his employees do the work. I also encouraged him to praise positive behaviors instead of focusing on what wasn’t going exactly how he wanted.
The Result
Over the next few months, Thomas told me that letting his staff do their thing made them more productive and creative and took a big load off his shoulders. Instead of hovering over people, he could now concentrate on the bigger picture while his employees did great work. He learned how to be there for them if they needed help and hold back when they didn’t. He shared that he noticed his staff was happier and got more work done and that everyone felt more relaxed. He was gratified to find a way to show his employees that they really mattered to him and that he trusted them to do amazing things.
What are your thoughts? Share your story below. I look forward to hearing from you.