Does your team feel like they are 'in control'?
Leaders can unwittingly create situations where their teams feel like they have no control. Are you supporting an environment they can thrive in or are they hanging on for dear life?
We’ve all probably experienced environments in our working lives where work feels like a scramble. Every priority is a hasty response to the changing whims of those at the top. Arbitrary deadlines, running from avoidable fire to avoidable fire, lack of focus, and too many priorities.
If you’ve moved into leadership responsibilities at any level in your career it’s important to reflect on how your own behaviour may contribute to such an environment. Are you trying to create artificial momentum by setting aggressive goals? Do you shift priorities dramatically? Is there a logic that feels clear in your head but may not have been articulated to your team? Are you responding to changes or situations that only you are aware of?
Even as leaders, we are not immune from feeling this way. Plenty of scenarios can contribute to a return to this feeling:
External events beyond our control
The actions of other leaders, the board or shareholders
Our own behaviours
When it happens to me through events beyond my control I always imagine I am like Pooh holding on to Tigger’s tail, hanging on for dear life whilst Tigger bounces from place to place as he is want to do. When Tigger cuts to the left, Pooh whiplashes without any control over his direction. When Tigger jags right it’s another violent whiplash for Pooh. Each direction change is naturally followed by a jagged response by those hanging on the tail a short while later.
Imagine then what it is like when your own behaviour may be putting others in this situation. Can they be operating at their best? Are they in a perpetually stressed state? Are they swung from impetuous action to impetuous action? What could we be doing to ensure they are taking considered action on the information that’s relevant for making the best possible decisions?
Do you ever feel this way? Do you worry you may have made others feel this way? What are your experiences? Please share them in the comments along with how you may have overcome this situation.