Sarah, responsible for planning in a growing operational company, wiped away her tears. She had spent months fighting to keep everyone happy, sacrificing overtime and weekend nights to keep everything in perfect working order, and now she was "spent.
A year and a half ago, she entered this organization with a desire to be challenged. When her scheduling manager, first temporarily and then permanently dropped out, Sarah grew into this leadership role super quickly. Being a team player for her co-workers and the team of installers under her purview, combined with always listening and resolving last-minute customer or production changes, pushed her into the role of up to-everything pivotal figure of scheduling. Sarah does solve.
But Sarah experienced that she wasn't making it, and luckily the business manager advised her to get into an individual coaching program.
It is not my job to lecture Sarah, but it is my intention to have her gain more self-insight into who she is, as a person and as a leader, how her personality is her strength and her pitfall, and what capabilities she could still bring to bear to meet the demands of this role.
Managers constantly balance between empowering and directing, change and stability, focus on tasks and relationships. Too much of one, without the other, can have negative consequences, so finding the right mix is essential.
To make it manageable, we start with polarities in leadership. These polarities are interdependent and opposing states that must coexist for success: Stability/Change, Steering/Empowering, Challenging/Supporting. Many leaders and organizations approach polarities with an either/or mentality "Either I have to do this or that. Leaders who demonstrate an and/and mentality perform better. They manage and give responsibility, radiate competence and warmth and provide stability in the midst of change.
Sarah discovers during coaching how to navigate between the six polarities that form the basis of her responsibilities. She explores the benefits and pitfalls and discovers that she too has "a golden mean. As a young executive, she formulates the importance of the polarities, how to stay out of the red zone, what she needs to do so, and who can help and support her in doing so.
I would like to invite you to consider the following questions and increase your self-insight as a leader.
Action - Reflection
Are you a leader motivated by "Action"? What things do you get done? What progress are you making? How many to-do lists are you not getting done? How many initiatives stick? How "busy busy" are you? Are you perhaps headed for burnout? When do you strategically reflect on growth and innovation, or do you avoid too much analysis and fear failure to deliver?
Stability - Change
Are you motivated by the predictability and regularity of stability? How do you feel about stagnation and boredom? Or do you love change immensely and it stimulates your creativity and new perspectives. But what about the chaos and inefficiency around you? Who gets happy from that?
Challenge - Support
Are you always setting the bar high and pushing your people to achieve even bigger and even better things? What is your contribution to "pushing" your people hard? Are you the leader who is always ready with the support and reassurance your team asks for? What effect does that have on them, on you and your environment?
Competent - Heat
How do you combine the ability, skills and strength to lead where you are going and the ability to support your team as a person during the process? How much confidence do you have in your expertise and ideas? Where do you stand on self-confidence and arrogance, and how does your (lack of) self-confidence limit your effectiveness?
Focus on tasks - focus on relationships
How do you benefit from focusing on tasks and ticking to-do things off your list? Which people have trouble keeping up with your pace? How do you keep them from burning out? Where do you, as a leader, stand between "keeping each one a friend" and "letting too much in. How does your focus on relationships help connect with your people and make them feel valued? When does your relationship focus lead to lack of achievement and frivolity?
Direct - Empower
Are you the leader who always gives direction and is involved in everything? How close or how far are you from micromanagement and over control? How does your attitude impact your team's engagement and creativity? Which people on your team are no longer able to think and decide for themselves. To what extent are your people ready for self-direction? What is causing the confusion and lack of focus in your team? What is your role in this?
Are you that executive with an and/and mentality? Are you not yet where you want to be? Coaching is a tool to help you get there. Feel free to contact me for an introductory conversation.
Steer your career, take and give responsibility, radiate competence as well as warmth, and provide stability in the midst of change.