Managing through Leading

There are many people in leadership roles that are consumed by the power that comes with having a title. These people believe that they have the authority to boss people around and treat others like they are sub-par because they are “in charge”. This mentality drives away good employees, kills morale in the workplace, and creates a toxic environment where nothing can be properly ran; more often than not, they will run their businesses into the ground.

        From my experience with “bossy” bosses, there never seems to be any good in their tactics. They order their employees around by saying “Do that because I’m the BOSS!” or “You have to listen to me; I’m you’re Manager!” Scarcely do they achieve their goals, and if they do, it is at the expense of the morale of their employees. The bad comes because these bosses do not try to empathize with their employees; they do not try to figure out their employees’ weaknesses, strengths, motivations, etc. Instead of giving tasks tailored to the characteristics of their employees, they treat everyone the same. This will cause the employees on task to feel like they are being micromanaged, and the sub-par ones will continue to expect others to carry the load. Typically, this is when good, motivated and driven employees will be alienated from their work environment and seek employment elsewhere. This leaves the sub-par employees to pick up the slack, and the business suddenly is not doing as well anymore.

The main takeaway is that we, as leaders, need to empower and positively influence our employees. We must make deeper connections, really get to know what drives and encourages our employees to perform exceptionally. We must continuously work on developing and encouraging our employees because without loyal and passionate workers, our businesses will never thrive and/or reach their full potential. To find the right approach, we also need to be sincere in our efforts because people can tell when there is an ulterior motive in trying to help them. When we create a mindset that we are trying to develop our employees not as followers, but as leaders, we need to put aside our pride and do what is best for our business and others; even if this means promoting someone to a position above you, giving others an opportunity that you want, or simply giving them a task that you know that you would do successfully, just so that they can gain experience on doing a variety of tasks. Building people up is a never-ending process, so allow yourself to build them up with no expectation of getting anything in return. It is OK if an employee does not succeed at a task that you gave them as long as they remain motivated and work towards fixing their weaknesses. We must be empathetic because we have all made mistakes; it is a part of life. Do not give up on an employee because they “failed”, figure out why they did not succeed, reassess their strengths and weaknesses, find another approach, and encourage them by giving them another task or opportunity.

 A simple rephrasing of what I have said is this: Lead your people, and manage your tasks. What I mean by this is that if you focus too much on the success of your goals and not on your people, you will FAIL! If you focus and really spend time and effort on your people, you will hardly have to focus on the success of your goals. Positive reinforcement and opportunities will allow your employees to work hard and develop the mentality that they will not allow themselves or you to fail. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my article on leading people; I greatly appreciate it. By no means am I a writer or an expert. I write from my experiences, and I hope that this can help someone who is struggling with how to tackle their leadership role. We as leaders still need to develop ourselves and our tactics, so if you do find yourself lacking in the ability to effectively motivate your employees, know that it will not happen overnight. Put in the effort that you expect back. I welcome any feedback and/or questions; I only ask that you do it in a respectful manner.