Employees Who Deceive. Leaders Who Distrust. (#196)
The Confident Leader
BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
I was on Morning at Merit Street, a daily show on Dr. Phil’s new national network. The segment topic was Hush Trips, vacations employees take without telling their bosses. Here’s what the hosts and I discussed…
“What you don’t know will hurt you. Ignorance is not bliss.”
― Jim Rohn (American entrepreneur and author)
This Week’s Edition
What’s the state of your relationship with your employees? Do they trust you? Do you trust them?
Clarify Your Thinking
Employees are taking so-called hush trips – vacations they are hiding from their boss. 40% of Gen Z have taken a hush trip.
Reports indicate employees are keeping it quiet because:
- They deserve more vacation than they are allotted.
- Their boss won’t approve the out-of-office time.
- They are already working remotely so it does matter if they’re in Hawaii.
Regardless of motive, employees are actively withholding information and/or lying about their trip. Are our workplace relationships so broken that employees are resorting to outright deception? Both leaders and employees may share some responsibility.
Thoughts Lead to Actions
So, what do we need?
- We need leaders who trust employees.
- We need employees who trust leaders.
Both groups are responsible for creating an environment where trust can be cultivated. However, based on the power differential, leaders must go first. They must lead the way to an increasingly trusting relationship.
- 74% of employees feel like they are missing feedback.
- 71% of employees believe their leaders don’t spend enough time communicating the goals and plans.
Here are three ideas to cultivate deep trust among team members.
Step 1: Create a culture of feedback. Ask the following questions:
- What am I/we doing well?
- What am I/we not doing well?
- What could I/we do better in the future?
Note: don’t say, “Can I give you some feedback.”
Step 2: Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Share with your team:
- Your vision for the future.
- Why that vision is important.
- The core values.
- Which strategies are working and which are not working.
- Role clarity and job descriptions.
Note: be clear on your expectations and be consistent.
Step 3: Ask your team open-ended questions. A good one is:
- What do you need to be successful that you might not be getting?
With so many things beyond a leader’s control in a challenging economy, take control of the things you can control – your leadership of the relationships that are most important to the success of your organization.
Boost Your Performance
Get on track to win your week. Take the Win Your Leadership Week survey. Spend 5 minutes and alter the trajectory of your next 5 days!
We’ve had 41 leaders leverage this leadership tool to win their week. One leader said, “These questions are similar to the conversations I have with my work accountability partner, but better!”
Every year you get 50 attempts to get it right. Let’s take it one week at a time. Let’s win the week!
What’s Your Opinion?
What is one thing you will do this week to build trust with your team? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com.
If you are going to be a leader, you might as well be a good one. Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!
Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist
We live to make bad leadership extinct so forward this newsletter to others who strive to be confident leaders.
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What is “The Confident Leader”?
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.
