Of the dozens of line managers I’ve worked with over the years, a common challenge is extracting themselves from operational emergencies for long enough to get some strategic headspace. There is always something that draws them back to the coalface.
The emergencies have ranged from staff absence to building fires (yes, I actually had a coaching client turn up for our Zoom call mere minutes after her building had been struck by lightning. In those circumstances, it is fine to send apologies!). But sometimes, what was initially a tactical response to an emergency situation becomes an enduring working pattern that’s difficult to extract themselves from.
Let’s talk about Ruth. Ruth has a good team. They’re friendly and helpful. But, they’ve been through a hard time. There’s been some turnover, they’re lacking confidence, and whilst the team love working from home, it does mean they’ve not gelled as well as they might have.
Ruth wants her team to know that she’s got their backs. She’ll check in on them regularly, ask about their home lives and make sure they know they can ask her questions. And they do. All the time.
Ruth’s team have come to depend on her. They rely on her to double-check things. They invite her to meetings that she doesn’t ordinarily go to, just as a back-up, and they copy her in to endless emails, just to keep her in the loop. When Ruth is off work, her team might pop her the odd text message, just to check something with her.
Ruth doesn’t feel she can complain, as she always says “Just text me if you need anything!”. And while she doesn’t want her team to feel abandoned while she’s on holiday, it does pop her holiday bubble when she sees a work challenge on her personal phone.
Ruth loves that her team trust her and enjoy working with her.
But she’s also getting exhausted. She knows that her team are - almost all - very capable. And she wants the best for them. Yet - on paper at least - Ruth’s role involves strategic leadership. There are endless projects that she needs to get underway before year-end, but she’s losing hope that this will happen. She keeps the essentials ticking over, but her capacity for strategic thinking seems permanently compromised.
By working with a coach, Ruth identified some of the things she could do to shift the dial on her situation. It wasn’t about radical overhauls, but instead, some subtle changes helped her to re-confirm her identity as a leader, rather than one of the team. This involved addressing some underlying issues that were holding her back.
Subconsciously, she quite enjoyed being one of the team. She didn’t want to come across as heavy-handed - she’d had some tough managers in the past and didn’t want to emulate their style. She also had concerns about one of her team’s performance, but this was tricky to address. Working remotely meant there was limited opportunities to see her in action, and frankly, Ruth was a bit nervous about addressing the issue.
Change didn’t happen overnight, but slowly, Ruth worked with her team to help them feel more confident and empowered. She worked out ways to tackle underperformance in a way that felt appropriate to the situation and - more importantly - authentic to her. Emergencies will always happen, but in an ordinary week, Ruth has more headspace to work on strategic projects. Her team even help her to kick the tyres!
If you’re in a situation like Ruth, why not drop me a line for a complimentary intro coaching session. No pressure, no sales, just some protected time to work through your challenges.
Comments