Manage to Lead

Getting a new job can be quite exciting! It can also be terrifying and nerve-wracking. The feelings and pressure to succeed, fit in with your co-workers, and make a difference in the company. I’ve come into numerous jobs with a passion for learning. I’ve rarely ever taken a job thinking there wasn’t room for growth. I believe it is beneficial to keep learning, share those lessons, and find ways to continue to have an impact in the company. So how  do we keep finding the motivation and opportunities for growth? Ideally, we have leaders to look up to that will put us in the position to succeed. They will give us tasks or projects  that will challenge us to think and go outside our comfort zone. They will encourage professional development so that you are set up for the next stage in your career, whatever that may look like. Unfortunately, these types of situations are quite rare.  

Of the multiple managers I’ve worked under, I would hardly call many of them leaders. Don’t get me wrong, not all managers are bad and rarely are they bad people. Most of my managers have been good people and technical experts, but lacked the interpersonal  skills needed to lead. Management and leadership are never guaranteed to go together. Managers focus on the product, schedules, hiring, policies and being in control. Leaders inspire. Leadership in a manager is rare. I’ve had teammates that were leaders. They inspired me to want to work harder, do better, challenge myself and put my team first. I can name a few managers who had that impact on me, and every one of them who did not. 

Managers sometimes end up in roles they are significantly unqualified for and may not even want. This happens when people who excel at their technical skill feel they’ve hit a point in their career where management is the obvious next step. And why wouldn’t they if they can get more money and a nice title? The hiring of management skills over leadership skills happens because of the organizational culture from the top downward. The higher ups aren’t looking for people to inspire the employees, they’re looking for people to make sure the job gets done. They want people who follow rules and will hold people accountable for breaking them. This lack of leadership in what companies consider “leadership roles” creates what I call a toxic workplace. These high levels of management toxicity have a lasting effect on team morale, retention, and overall production. This article will focus on various aspects relating to a toxic workplace and solutions to turn it around. 

Trust me…I’m a Manager 

A major factor in determining the culture of the workplace is trust. If you are in a management role, do you think your employees trust you, those equal to or above you? What does a trusting work environment even look like? Trust can be built when the  employee knows they can go to their manager with a problem without judgment or having  it shared with others. Being transparent, accountable and asking for feedback builds trust. Acting unprofessionally, gossiping, and getting defensive does not.  

As an employee, your one-on-one communications with your manager should be confidential. If necessary, make sure you clearly state at the beginning of each meeting that the conversation doesn’t go anywhere. If they still breach your confidence, keep a record of it. Depending on the situation you may be able to report them to human resources if you so  choose. Also, if a manager tries to bait you into talking gossip about another employee, refuse. This is highly unprofessional and unless there is a specific incident that needs clarity, it is ok to keep the conversation moving elsewhere. 

Trust is attainable within the workplace but takes time, effort and consistency. When employees see firsthand that an organization encourages open communication, transparency and action they’ll start trusting you. If you, as a manager do what you say you’re going to do and support your team, you’re on your way to building trust. Being accountable for your actions and those of your team will also help! 

Integrity 

As a manager or director, don’t pride yourself on an aspect of your job if you don’t hold true to it. There’s no point in boasting about your high level of professionalism if you’re going to turn around and ignore your staff. There’s no integrity in turning a blind  eye to low morale and simply not wanting to know if your team is happy. Once your team realizes you’re full of it, they will lose respect for you. If you want to build a strong team talk to them, ask them questions and listen to their feedback. If you can, try to make some positive changes or compromises. If you can’t, tell them why not.  

Communication 

Managers who promote open communication environments build healthy work  cultures. This goes together with trust. Difficult conversations are never fun but having them with your employees and explaining the situation appropriately can be beneficial to  their overall growth. It can also help with your growth and development as a manager. Managers who continue to have honest talks with their staff will eventually build stronger relationships within the team. 

When you feel that your company’s work culture is trending in the wrong direction, take some steps to start fixing it. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of listening and asking for feedback. If for some reason you don’t want to know where your team morale is at, then you are failing your team. Listening and feedback are two major factors that help improve trust, growth, and positive relationships. And asking the questions aren’t enough. It’s about hearing that feedback and finding a way to act on it, if possible.  

Listening 

Aligning itself with trust is listening. Are you listening to your employees when they  bring issues forward? Are you encouraging open dialog and listening to their ideas? Leaders who listen to their followers will see a significant increase in trust. If an employee keeps sharing frustrations that continue to get swept aside, they’ll eventually stop talking  altogether. When ideas are continuously swept aside, you lose one more motivating factor. This all in-turn leads to unhappiness, complacency, limited drive or connection to the organization, and eventually they’re going to leave.  

Listening to your staff means being fully engaged in the conversation without the distraction of what you want to say next. Not every employee request can have a solution behind it, but acknowledging you’ve heard them is important. Don’t provide false hope that a solution is imminent if it’s not, but at least talk through it. There might be a solution, maybe there’s not! Either way, explain to them your decision and stick to it. Also, make sure difficult discussions are had behind closed doors and not in front of other employees. Not only is it unprofessional, but there may be too many distractions to be fully engaged. 

Feedback 

Managers who want to build leadership skills will benefit by asking for feedback. I’ve worked for multiple organizations that never once asked for management feedback. Not once. How can you grow as a manager, leader, co-worker, or individual if you don’t ask the people you work the closest with how you are doing in your role? I encourage you next time you’re in a meeting with an employee to ask them how you are doing as a manager! 

Feedback is difficult to hear and challenging to provide but encourages growth and eventually helps build healthy relationships. The few moments of discomfort are much more beneficial in the long run than simply not having a conversation. Again, this isn’t easy, and you aren’t going to be a professional at it from day one. To do so, it’s imperative to know how to provide feedback properly and in a timely manner. Simply telling someone  they messed up or are a bad teammate is remarkably unproductive. Try asking questions to  work through the situation. You, as a manager do not know what was going on in that person’s life, mind, or workspace at that moment. It is irresponsible to make assumptions and important to understand every perspective. Addressing these situations when they happen instead of putting them off for weeks or months will also help recall the situation. 

Do your best to get some training or do research on proper ways of giving and receiving feedback. If you are unsure about how to approach a situation, reach out to a co worker, human resources or your boss for tips. You simply cannot and should not be a  manager if you don’t want to learn how to provide feedback to your staff! 

Turnover 

A common side-effect of a toxic environment is high turnover. Even if your company averages a 90% retention rate, aren’t you curious as to why that 10% is leaving? I understand you can’t expect everyone to stick around, that’s unrealistic. Questioning the  motives behind employee departures though may help gain clarity on team morale. This information can be obtained during exit interviews if you’re asking the right questions but at that point isn’t it too late? Unfortunately, in a toxic work environment people may not speak the truth on their way out. They’ve been defeated, angry, and exhausted. They don’t trust you’ll listen and just want to leave. I’ve been open, honest and direct in my exit  interviews. At one place, the HR manager was shocked to hear the things I was saying and couldn’t believe it was happening there. I told her that I’d met with another HR manager on several occasions to talk about all this and more and my words went unheard. How can an environment change if the people who are supposed to support the employees don’t care enough to help facilitate those changes? This all connects to the importance of trust, communication and feedback.  

Work-life Balance 

The last thing an employee needs is to be stressing out about work when they are at  home. Deadlines, relationships, management, and workload are all factors that can crowd your mind and keep you up at night. Unfortunately, a lot of managers put pressure (intentional or not) on their employees to always be available for work. This means email, phone, and text accessibility around the clock. That means getting projects, research and development done on the weekends and evenings. These types of unrealistic and overwhelming expectations only increase a person’s stress level. This doesn’t mean that an  employee shouldn’t expect to work some odd hours during peak times of the year or emergencies. It means it shouldn’t be expected all year round.  

When you combine a toxic management system with limited or non-existent boundaries, you’re just asking for increased turnover. These types of work environments can push your employees to a breaking point where they see leaving as the only option. Some employees get so stressed out due to their work-life balance they’ll just leave without a backup plan.  

I encourage you to set appropriate boundaries with your employees. Check in with your team and make sure they aren’t feeling pressured to be working more than necessary. This goes back to having open communication, listening and trust. Let your employees  know that you not only appreciate their work, but you want them to stay healthy mentally and physically. Encourage them to use their vacation time and let them know sick days are there if they need them. 

It took me over ten years to start realizing that I could take sick time or vacation days. It’s not that I wasn’t aware they existed, I just never thought it was appropriate to use them. As a work-a-holic on my feet 6-8 hours a day, I worked through broken bones, torn  ligaments, and a staph infection just to name a few. My mindset didn’t shift until a co worker (not a manager) taught me the importance of prioritizing my personal life and mental health over work. Take the role of a leader and connect with your team on more than a transactional level. Be transparent about treating them as humans who have real  lives outside of the workplace. 

Know Your Role 

Managers sacrifice the technical aspect of their jobs to take on a role focused on logistics, deadlines, and hiring. This sacrifice may be exciting for some as they take on a new role engaging with their employees. Others though may not be ready to walk away from their passion projects they’ve built their careers around. At this point, they may be asked to hand over some of these tasks to their employees and that can generate frustrations. A desire to hold on to the past with a hesitancy to pass the torch can have  some managers feeling threatened. That threat and the associating negative behaviors can inhibit the overall growth and development of your team. It can also lead to a lack of trust and respect, all adding to a toxic work environment.  

Motivation 

Autonomy 

Prioritizing team morale and motivation will increase your team dynamic, creativity, and overall production. Employees who have significant autonomy on projects or team leadership will feel valued and connected to the mission. Consider bringing them into the  decision-making process and working with them to facilitate solutions. 

Intrinsic Motivation 

Intrinsic motivation combines autonomy and empowerment to motivate your team without the added incentive of bonuses, deadlines or threats. Utilizing intrinsic motivation can be challenging and really depends on your workplace. The ability to get your team motivated intrinsically shows they believe in the mission and enjoy being part of its growth.  

Wrapping It Up 

I don’t want to take away from the challenges that managers face. Managing is hard  and sometimes it’s just not fun. This doesn’t mean it should be approached without empathy. Managers will see more from their staff when they invest in building their leadership skills. Leadership isn’t something we are born with no matter how many posters say otherwise. These are skills that we need to learn and build upon continuously. Leadership skills teach us how to influence and motivate. They provide a better understanding of why it is important to put people in a position to succeed.  

When I started studying leadership, it exposed all the major flaws from many managers that I never understood. Researching leadership helped me understand why so many co-workers, including myself were unhappy. I have come to learn how the lack of transparency, communication, and trust can cripple a team. I’m now working to help other managers, leaders and teammates learn unique ways to approach leadership.  

I have built a personal model of leadership on the foundation of communication, motivation, empowerment and teamwork. It highlights emotional intelligence, intrinsic motivation, autonomy and a psychodynamic approach. I encourage managers, whether you  are new or tenured to self-assess and re-evaluate how you approach your teams. Check in with them often, not to micro-manage but to understand how they are doing mentally, physically and emotionally. Use that time to ask how you are doing as a manager and listen to the feedback provided.  

There are skills, concepts, and models that you can tailor to your own style of  leadership. There is not one specific blueprint that teaches you how to lead a team. You need to be open-minded, adapt and an active listener. Once you invest in your own  professional development, you may be shocked at the positive turnaround throughout your team. This means less turnover, more production, and overall happier employees.