Control is good; trust is better.
Without trust, a leader cannot lead.
The role of a leader is to provide their team with clear direction and support and inspire them to thrive and achieve their goals.
But in reality, that is not always the case.
Control has its place in leadership, yet, like a double-edged sword, it can have detrimental effects when used to the extreme.
In the quest for excellence, leaders face various dilemmas and struggle to balance opposing and complementary leadership styles.
⚠️ “I know I can do it better, faster and more efficiently. Should I delegate?”
⚠️ “I know the answer to the problem. Shall I give it away from the start to save us time?”
⚠️ “I can handle the situation more smoothly. Should I step in and take over?"
Those dilemmas often make it challenging to lead people, as every small or big action or decision looks like a crossroads.
When your leadership style is not diverse enough and tilts towards micromanaging your team, the trust-building process is severely hindered.
The stats are staggering.
📈 Research by Accountemps showed that 59% of employees had experienced micromanagement. Other studies indicate a higher number, up to 80%!
Most of them considered changing jobs simply because of that, and half of them actually did.
Micromanagement negatively affects every level of your team and organisation.
- your team members' morale and motivation decrease, and they increasingly feel useless, powerless and doubt themselves
- there's no honest communication and true collaboration in the team, while creativity levels drop significantly
- the overall performance stagnates due to lower productivity
- the leader eventually becomes burned out
❌ Your role as a leader is not to provide all the answers.
✔️ Your role is to
- show your employees that you trust them
- communicate honestly and transparently
- ask them if they need support
- provide the necessary or missing resources, help, or coaching
- guide them to think independently, be creative and find their own solutions
- encourage them to seek support and ideas directly from the team
- promote growth by leveraging their strengths and enhancing their visibility in the organisation
Less control and more guidance are key for shifting from the know-it-all to the lets-do-it-together approach.
It’s about fostering versatility in your leadership.
In essence, versatility is not a skill but a meta-competency.
It means being a well-rounded and balanced leader able to leverage and master diverse skills and competencies while also knowing how to learn new ones continuously.
If you’re ready to transform your leadership style from reactive to proactive and achieve greater impact with your team(s) - with personalised, context-specific support, let's talk ⤵️
It’s free and can provide immediate insights and actionable next steps, regardless of your decision to work with me as your coach.
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