We all know that being a leader is hard work and, truthfully, you can do everything right and still not connect with your team.
However, that scenario is not what we’re here to talk about today. Let’s chat about habits we might hold that build up resentment in your employees. And a team that resents you will NOT work hard for you.
Let’s go through Entrepreneur.com’s list of “5 Common Managerial Habits” that might be causing just such resentment.
- “Responding defensively to employee criticism” Feedback is healthy and NEEDED. If your first response to any sort of feedback is defense mode, you might want to rethink your attitude. If you keep this mindset of arguing/excusing each piece of criticism, your team will come to resent you. This breeds lack of trust, uncomfortability in the workplace, and frustrations. If you invalidate your teams’ opinions because of ego, you will soon find yourself without a team. You HAVE to let them share their thoughts and voice constructive feedback to process/strategy you have set. It is the only way to create buy-in and trust from your employees.
- “Giving feedback on a project you didn’t fully review” I know, I know- leaders all pretty busy. Afterall, you’ve got projects, teams, and businesses to run. Because of this, you might cut a few corners to try and get everything done in a timely manner. But if you don’t fully read an email or skim the project you’re reviewing, you are most likely to give irrelevant feedback. This is damaging to your relationship, wastes everyone’s time, and causes much more harm than good. Take the time to go through projects carefully if you are to give accurate direction/feedback. If you don’t have time in that moment, set those expectations or delegate to others to review. Your team will thank you for it.
- “Providing necessary information after a job has been finished” Do not, and I repeat- DO NOT, give all the necessary information on a project, after the person has submitted it. In doing this, you are completely throwing your employee’s time down the drain. If you don’t give them all the information needed, they will build out the details themselves and ultimately waste time towards a never ending project. This causes an immense amount of frustration, mistrust, and unhappiness in your team. There is no need to rush through the briefing stage. There is always enough time for a sync to go through the requirements, boundaries, and project guidelines.
- “Expecting a job to be done the same way you would do it” As a leader, you have to learn to relinquish the need to have things done your way. Delegation is probably the most important (and hardest) trait to master, but it is vital. If you expect your team to do things in the exact way you would do them, you are setting them up to fail. Remember, there is more than one way to get to point B. You should hire people who think differently than you for this reason! Get excited when your employee finds a new way of doing something! It might be better than what you expected.
- “Casting a vision that your employees don’t care about” If you create a vision for the company that no one knows about, believes in, or even cares about, they won’t help you create it. It’s pretty easy to get swept away by the vision in your head, but you can’t force your team to believe what you believe. You have to inspire them on their terms, not your own.
Don’t fall prey to these managerial habits. It will serve no productive purpose and will ultimately negatively affect your business.
We have to make active choices every moment of the day to be good leaders. Of course, we’re all human and we are likely to make mistakes, but it’s how we act/react that defines us. Stay in your integrity and lead with compassion and fairness if you hope to earn the respect of your team.
Recent Comments