It does not take too much to realise that something is not working. However, it does take both insight and courage to take ownership for the fact that you are part of the solution!
I worked with a client who wallowed in efficiency. She had a relentless need for achievement. Excellence, not average, was her benchmark. And her career mirrored her steady performance. She was now head of the department which had been her home since her arrival in industry.
In this position, my client applied the same level of intensity to her direct reports’ areas of responsibility as she did to her own. But a disconnect was soon to disclose itself.
When we met to review the results of her first 360° assessment, my client was somewhat subdued. There was one comment in particular which she believed told the full story: “She’s into the weeds at every opportunity. Instead of leading the department, she’s driving us all mad.“
My client knew that she was a devil for detail. She knew it as her strength. She knew it as her weakness. But that a number of her direct reports felt cheated of their expertise, their experience, their unique points of view – that was a revelation. And it hurt.
But how to run the department successfully? That was now the burning question.
I posed quite a different question. I asked my client if she could tell me how much time she was spending on leadership tasks. “Oh, that’s easy to calculate. I’m a manager not a leader. My strength is in producing order and consistency.“ She clearly spent 100% of her time on management tasks. End of story. Or was it?
I then asked who was accountable for ensuring that the department was not only delivering the things right but indeed the right things. Needing a little more time to detect and reflect on the difference, my client agreed that this was indeed her task. Then I asked how she was doing on that front. She wasn’t. And there lay her challenge.
With efficiency at her side, she realigned her focus. And the biggest turnaround? She gave the work back to her direct reports. It happened quite naturally. With the reallocation of her resources between leadership and management tasks, the demands simply shifted.
For some people who are transitioning into leadership positions, management minus leadership equates to micro-management. A shift in perspective could be the making or breaking of them. And indeed their teams.
And leadership minus management can spell just as much disaster. How well are you doing when it comes to getting that balance right?
photograph: © sangoiri / Fotolia.
