Who’s the Daddy? How Parent Leadership is killing the business

You are here because you want to grow as a leader.?

And maybe you have a team that you need to grow too.?

Are you technically expert at what you do but you want more, and you know that It’s not enough just to be good at what you do????

You now need to create the superpowers of communication, impact and influence in order to maximise your outcomes as a leader.?

You need to be able to talk business, not just tech.

You need to be able to communicate at all levels and be a positive influence in the business.?

You need to be able to bring your team on board and create outstanding performance.?

You need to be able to think strategically, not just down in the weeds of the expertise you have.?

And we already know that what got you here won’t get you there.?

All those years honing your technical expertise made you what you are now.? But it won’t take you to the next level.?

You need to take on new approaches, new techniques and understanding about your team, about you, and about how you fit into the organisation as a whole.?

The Growing Leaders in Business Newsletter focuses on these tools and techniques in a practical and informal way, so you can digest and implement bite sized pieces to upgrade your skills.?

The three essential areas for high performing leaders to master are to create confidence, collaboration and commitment in your teams, peers and investors, and to be able to engage, enable and excite them into coming with you on your journey.??

Each week we focus on different aspects to help you to create these superpowers.

This week we're looking at dealing with how parent leadership is killing your company...

I was reading an article today about how employees are less likely to stay in the business than 10, 20 or 30 years ago, and what that is costing businesses in terms of recruiting and lost productivity.?

I remember when I joined the police back in 1997 most people were planning to be there for 30 years, and it was not unusual for employees in all organisations to be looking forward to their carriage clock of long service and retiring after their sole career in that industry.?

They were respectful of the order of things, and they wanted to stay and make a good job of it.? No matter how badly they were treated, no matter how much the business took from them, they gave back, they worked hard, and they “earned” their wage.?

There was a lot of talk of loyalty and a job for life.?

But what does that mean?

And was it really a good relationship?

Or was it more like a parent-child relationship where the firm was the parent, and you did what you were told?

In many industries people put up with bullying, and working long hours, staying on at the drop of a hat.?

They didn’t want to lose their job and they coveted the longevity and security.?

And often leaders leant on this fact to take more from those people than they gave back.?

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am one of those who truly believe that we should put in a good day’s work.

BUT…

It wasn’t always an equal relationship or even a respectful one.?

So, what’s different now?

It seems that we see things so differently now.?

We are able to move if we want.?

We can change jobs, careers, and countries even.?

We don’t expect that longevity and we don’t even necessarily want it either.

And that means that treating people like you are “in charge” of them, like they are kids, just doesn’t wash.?

If we drain emotional bank accounts of our people and forget that they need to be nurtured, respected and they need to feel they belong, then we will lose them.?

They are not hanging around for the carriage clock or the handshake.? They might not even know what one is anymore!

The fact that people have more choice of movement, and of the way in which they work, means that they don’t have to put up with poor leadership.?

They choose. They walk away and they will find something else.?

And that costs the business dearly in recruitment and loss of productivity.?

Imagine having to re-train each time, to find that person with the right skills and abilities.? It’s a pain, it costs, and it slows us down.?

So, we have to look to ourselves to create the environment where people WANT to stay and want to contribute and be part of the success of the business.?

We don’t want them to just be present until they find another, more adult-adult job.

And maybe you might be thinking “well they need to step up as an adult and be responsible too” – and you would be right. ? But I am looking at what we, as leaders can do to step up to our side of the bargain so to speak.??

So, what can we do?? Well, we can make sure that we set them up to succeed by being:

• Fair
• Honest
• Open
• Clear

And by giving them the tools, confidence and knowledge to do the best job.

And when we create an equal relationship where both sides are getting and sharing value then no one feels that they lost out.? No one feels they were hard done by, and everyone is benefitting from the set up.?

So, ask yourself, is the leadership of the business creating adult to adult relationships, or treating people like minions and wondering why they leave?

We did a short training on this exact subject on Thursday, which you can catch here

And if you need help now, just message me to set up a call where we can discuss how we can get things moving forward.?

Julie.

Julie "Chief Impact Engineer" Hutchison

Email: [email protected]

P.S.?Whenever you are ready...here are 4 ways I can help you increase your impact as a leader:

1. Join The "Quiet Leaders Lab? Facebook Group and?connect with other leaders who want to grow

It's our Facebook community where those that are The Quiet Leaders can learn and share how to increase their impact, influence and outcomes --?Click here

2. Grab a free copy of my leadership impact report: The Team Performance Engine?

It’s the Road Map to your journey to increasing your impact as a leader -Click here

3. Join our Leaders Launchpad??Mastermind Group Programme

This Mastermind is a selected group of like-minded leaders,?in an online community, focused on growing your results.??With training, group coaching calls, guest speakers and more, supporting?and challenging you to design?and implement real team performance in your business.

Send me a message or email [email protected] with "IMPLEMENT" in the subject line and we can discuss how you can join us

4. Work with me and my team privately

If you or your team just need a little more one to one attention to make change happen in your business... just message and put "PRIVATE"?in the subject line... tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!