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Transcript
Hello, friends. In this episode, we’re going to talk about one of the great dangers that can happen when someone gets put into a position of leadership.
So what is this danger? What can happen when someone gets put in a position of leadership that causes them to suffer, their business to suffer, and those below them to suffer?
It’s called detachment.
Sometimes when people get put into these positions, they get detached. They get detached from the reality of what’s happening in their company, what’s happening in the front lines. They get detached from the people, from the positions that they used to be, and they no longer can see from that perspective.
And then often they don’t try. And we’ll talk about that a little bit more in a minute.
Why does detachment happen?
So why does this happen? Why do people get detached?
Well, sometimes it’s simple arrogance. Sometimes when people get into a leadership position, they become arrogant. They think they are better or no better just because they’re in that position so they don’t take the time to talk.
They don’t take the time to learn. They just think they know better already. That’s one reason.
Lack of training
Another reason is kind of what we talked about in the past episode. It’s that people sometimes get put in the position, sometimes for the wrong reasons, and then they’re not trained. They’re not trained in how to be a great leader and how to stay attached and in the know of what’s going into the company and the best practices when it comes to implementing new policies or changes and things of that nature.
Thinking you know better because of the position
Sometimes when people are put in those positions, kind of what we mentioned before with arrogance, is sometimes people just think they know better because they’re in that position. It might be because they have a different view and a leadership position.
You know, you’re supposed to see the big picture. That’s part of what you do. You’re supposed to cast a vision. But sometimes when we’re in that position, it can be easy to think we know better because we’re in that position.
And we may make rules and changes and new policies and implementations, often with good intentions, often with good whys, but it ends up hurting instead of helping because we are detached from the front.
Forgetting what it’s like
Because what happens is, we sometimes come from the positions below. We may have been a salesperson before. We knew what it was like to be in sales. We knew what it was like to have to fill out the paperwork, the online platforms, to visit the people, and so on.
But sometimes when we get into the management position, we forget what that’s like.
Or as a teacher. Someone’s a teacher and they’ve been a teacher for a few years. They get moved up to another position. Sometimes it can be easy to forget what it’s like to be a teacher.
When we get into those positions, sometimes we can lose that connection. We lose that connection. And so often for good reasons, we think we may know what’s best.
So we make these rules and changes, trying to help or do good things or move the company or organization forward, but it ends up not being the best because of that disconnect.
So in those cases, what we need to do is make sure we’re connected. Make sure we’re talking to the people below us. Make sure we understand the perspective of the front lines. Make sure we’re listening to the front lines. Make sure we’re listening to their ideas and implementing things that are good.
A common mistake
One mistake leaders make is that because they think they are a leader, they have the best ideas. And that’s so often not true. Often you’ll find some of the best ideas comes from those who are in the front line.
Sometimes the ones who can come with the best ideas about how to clean the building better are the ones who clean the building. Sometimes the ones who can come up with the best ideas and solutions and how they teach our kids better are the ones who are teaching them.
Listen
So it’s important that we listen to those who are in those positions who are on the front lines Make sure you talk to them. Make sure you listen make sure there’s open communication and that they feel safe talking with you that they feel safe that they won’t be reprimanded or lose their job or whatever it may be because they bring up an issue or because they bring up an idea.
Make sure they know and show that when they present an idea, our solution, our suggestions, that it’s going to actually be considered. Too often people put on the face of we want to hear from you, but they don’t show it with their actions.
They may have one of those nods that kind of gives the impression of, “I hear you, but not really. I’m not listening. I know better because I’m a leader.”
Or they may just never do anything with it. The ideas may just be discarded just because they’re not from leadership. They’re from those below.
One reason that leaders don’t get the input they should from the front lines that don’t listen, don’t get the suggestions, don’t get the ideas is because of a lack of trust. We talked about they think they know better. They think sometimes it’s arrogance. Other reasons.
A lack of trust
But sometimes is because there’s a lack of trust. They feel like they have to control them to do what they need to do to make things happen. They don’t trust the people in those positions to do it well, so they feel like they have to make all these policies that they have to follow to make sure they do it right.
Or they don’t trust them to make decisions, so they make all the decisions go back to them and leave the person on the front lines kind of powerless in what they do. That is terrible for when it comes to motivation, morale, productivity, and good customer service.
I tell you, one of the most annoying things in customer service is when you’re trying to call and get the situation solved, and they’re like, “Oh, I have to talk to my manager. Oh, I have to talk to somebody else.”
Put decision making as close as you can to the decision
Don’t do that. The best companies are the ones who empower those on the front lines to make decisions in regards to the problems they’re facing in their position.
Let me say that again, some of the best companies are those that the front lines, the people in the front, to make decisions to solve the problems that they encounter in their position.
If you really want great customer service, if you want good morale from your people, give them decision making power. If you feel like you can’t trust them, that again is on you for whatever policies, expectations, culture you built, people you hired, and so on.
In fact, John Maxwell and other authors say you should put the decision-making power closest to the problem you can. Because what often happens is that those who have the decision-making power are far from the problem. And those who are closest to the problem and have the most knowledge have the least amount of decision-making power.
So you need to give decision-making power to those closest to the problem to solve it. Otherwise, you end up slowing the process, causing issues, hurting your customer service, demoralizing your team, and so on.
Putting it all together…
So in summary, one of the great dangers of when someone gets put into a leadership position is detachment. This happens because sometimes when we get away from that position, we forget what it’s like to be in that position.
Sometimes it’s because of arrogance, because we think we know better, because a lack of training. Whatever it may be, sometimes there’s a disconnect, there’s a detachment, and the decisions are made in that detachment, even with good intentions, even with good whys.
But the results and the how is not good because of that detachment from the front lines. And also sometimes the reason there’s this detachment and poor rules and so on is because of a lack of trust and control.
If you want the most effective company, you need to of course build a culture of safety because some of the best ideas come from those in the front lines. Build a culture of safety, welcome those ideas, accept them.
And put decision making power in the hands of those in the front line so they can handle the problems they face without always having to go to a manager. Doing that will help you build a better company.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions, feel free to go to nomorebadleaders.com and message me from there. I’ll see you next time.
