While coaching a team of leaders in a group session, one of the leaders expressed frustration.
He shared that his boss micromanaged him. He elaborated that his boss would get involved with his employees, and now his employees had a habit of going around him to his boss.
This practice undermined his authority and he felt he lost credibility with his employees, because they no longer followed his instructions. He felt STUCK and FRUSTRATED.
I realized there may be more happening than just micromanagement, so we agreed to pause the discussion until we could dive in deeper during our one-on-one coaching session.
In our next 1:1, we unpacked scenarios and discovered that the root of the problem was actually HIS conduct and conversations.
Here’s what was happening…
● His employees would challenge him on a decision or instruction, and because he felt at risk or attacked, he would say, “Well, (insert boss name) says we need to do this or that.”
● As a result, the employees would go to the boss who ‘apparently’ had the final say.
● The leader then felt undermined and micromanaged by his boss, whose decisions were at times affected by the employees.
What this leader didn’t realize is that his authority wasn’t being TAKEN from him; rather, HE WAS GIVING IT AWAY.
While it was a hard truth to face, it gave him an opportunity to do something about it.
He learned he was capable of shifting the dynamic himself by owning the decisions and instructions he provided to his team.
Over time, his confidence grew, his employees stopped going around him, and his boss acknowledged the great results he was seeing through this leader.
Sometimes the truth about the places where we need to grow as a leader, the blind spots we don’t know exist, can be difficult to accept.
But acknowledging and addressing them with the right mindset and skillset creates outstanding results!
If you’re interested in improving your leadership team culture and uncovering blind spots that may be holding your leaders back, Let’s connect! I’d love to talk with you!