The Issue With Languishing Leadership: One Simple Equation

The task of leading employees can be a challenge amongst the best of times.?

Too often, senior leaders overly expect managers to give employees’ a stellar work experience, while adding heaps of new tasks onto the plate of managers, further stressing their workload. Every new initiative and task which senior leadership creates for a manager requires energy, and takes managers away from what matters most.

Simon Sinek often reminds senior leaders that their managers have finite capacity. And while many know this, they continuously fail to acknowledge and deal with it, counting on their managers to figure it out. This is flawed decision making, mainly because an accumulation of evidence shows how managers are consistently stepping down to roles with less compensation, but more reasonable expectations. Forbes reported in February 2021 that approximately 60% of leaders feel drained by the end of the workday... this number is almost assuredly higher today.

Understanding that the pressures managers face requires more than guessing or assuming all is well. Reality doesn’t change by ignoring the potential risk of chronic stress and strain which employees face on a day to day basisl, nor does failing to ask questions or measure their stress and coping skills change the trajectory.?

CEOs and directors are advised to be concerned about the risk of managers spending more time in unpleasant emotions. Languishing can affect a manager’s mental health over time. Any manager who perceives they spend most of their day pushing, battling, debating, or feeling frustrated is at risk.?

The math for The Leadership Equation is simple. There is a direct relationship between leadership effectiveness and languishing. When languishing goes up, leadership effectiveness goes down. There are some cases where languishing managers appear on the surface to be doing a good job, but when you dig a bit deeper you uncover that this is neither the case, nor sustainable.?

When a manager leaves their workday feeling drained, with no hope the next day will be better, they are at risk. Spending many days in this state can leave them feeling short-tempered and asking questions to escape unpleasant feelings. They may seek a new role, consider taking time off, or even look for ways to avoid negativity. They are more likely to question their competency and abilities and be judgmental and shorter with their teams.?

Many organizations train managers how to lead better, or support employees’ mental health. At the core is the truth that managers can’t lead to their potential when they can’t lead themselves. Avoiding this is the norm in too many organizations that will soon notice the cost.?

Organizations can provide training and support to build managers’ mental fitness that can help them improve their emotional well-being and mitigate the risk of languishing. They can also provide space and make operational decisions that put managers in position to get clarity on what is expected of them and arrange for the support they need to be successful.?

Keep a keen eye on how your managers are navigating their demands and expectations. Evaluate support programs designed to help them develop self-awareness as to how well they are doing and their risk of languishing so they can take accountability for their emotional well-being.

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