And how to stop them…
At my recent seminar about Leadership styles, we talked about the importance of creating an environment of trust within the workplace. However, a couple of delegates were concerned about the possibility of people taking advantage of that trust and that is real concern for lots of managers.
It seems to be a common theme amongst managers, that they have shown a degree of trust to a group only for one or two to abuse that trust. Thankfully, it is a situation I have only rarely had to face in all of my years of managing people and that may be down to luck or it may be down to the fact that I have always worked with committed and professional people. But it may also be down to the fact that I always attempt to create that right environment for people to succeed in.
There are a number of reasons why people may be tempted to “swing the lead”. Below are a few reasons and some ideas on how to handle them.
Buying into the vision
The main reason people don’t commit their time and effort as much as others is that they have not bought into what the team is trying to do. People who believe in the aims of the team tend to work harder towards achieving those aims, people who are disengaged from the team goals and aims will not.
Solving this is just a case of being the cheerleader, you have to sit down with them and ask them why they don’t believe in the team’s aims. It might be because they were not involved in setting the aims and feel that their views were not taken into consideration; it might be that the team aims no longer fit with their own values or it might be that they don’t understand what the aims are.
Your next step, as manager, is find a way to overcome their reservations and “bring them back on board” .. just to keep the nautical metaphors going.
Plugging the Skills Gap
If people feel unable to contribute to achieving the team aims, they may also disengage. Part and parcel of your role as a manager is to make sure your team have the skills to excel. So, if people do not seem to be committed to the work, take a step back and consider whether it is because they are struggling with an element of the job.
Setting clear boundaries
The final step is to be clear in explaining what acceptable behaviour you expect. If you take the case of Richard Branson offering unlimited leave to his employees, it is done on the understanding that there is work to be done, deadlines to be met, targets to be achieved. It is done on the expectation that people will not just take days off without planning them, without telling people around them, without making sure there is cover in place.
It will come as no surprise to hear that the solution to this problem requires clear, constant and consistent communication because this is what management is about. It is about giving clear direction to your staff, that direction is influenced by their ambitions and ideas, that clear boundaries and expectation on behaviour is in place.
Creating that environment of trust, where everyone is fully committed to achieving the goals is, of course, management nirvana. As you can see from above, it requires constant, clear and consistent communication with the team. It involves talking to people individually to make sure they understand the aims, that they have the skills to deliver and that they know what you expect of them.
My job is to help your managers perform better. My job is to help your manager spot problems like this and give them the tools to make every one of their team perform well. If you want to know more, give me a call.
If you want more hints and tips on being a great manager, download my book from Amazon.co.uk. I provide training and coaching on leadership development. If you want to find out more, call me on 07595 702878 or Contact Me.
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