3 Pitfalls You Should Avoid in the Workplace: Manager Edition
Recently, we’ve gathered such great insight from our community on Instagram, where many managers have expressed feeling intimidated by quiet quitting, rampant burnout, and reports of toxic workplace across social media and even news headlines. Of course, this can all manifest as an overwhelming pressure to be the “perfect manager,” prompting leaders to take a step back when they really need to reach out to their teams more than ever before.
Before we dive into the 3 pitfalls you or your managers might be making and should avoid in the workplace, let’s discuss how to recognize whether managers are falling into these habits and why that’s a problem.
We’re hearing managers express that they are shying away from tough conversations, canceling meetings to give back time to their teams, and taking on more in an effort to help manage their employees' workload. These are only a few of the many examples that our managers are currently dealing with on a daily basis.
While on the surface, these can be quick and easy ways to appease employees, they are certainly not conducive to achieving long-term results, developing teams, or building trusting relationships. If anything, all they do is drive disconnection and disengagement between employees and their work, both of which can take a serious hit on office productivity, morale, and so much more. We’re breaking down what to do instead, below.
3 things managers should avoid in their employee relationships
1.You avoid giving tough feedback
How often has the fear of upsetting your employees with difficult feedback kept you from having a conversation with them? We get it––any leader who hasn’t nailed the feedback conversation will certainly be intimidated by them, but opting out of them entirely can actually be a major disservice to both managers and teams alike. An international employee survey recently found that while 72% of employees rated “managers providing critical feedback” as important for them in their overarching career development, only 5% of those surveyed believe that their managers actually provide such feedback. By reconsidering feedback conversations as an overall good for the individual employee and team as a whole, we can begin to understand just how vital these conversations are, making them more approachable with consistency and frequency. Need a little help getting started?
Read Leadology’s Manager’s Guide to Difficult Conversations.
2.You opt to DIY instead of delegating tasks to employees
While efficiency is integral to any team’s success, a manager’s inability to delegate is not. In a time where workplace leaders struggle with cultivating and maintaining a culture of accountability in remote work environments, it can often feel much easier to quickly handle any tasks that might take direct reports twice as long to complete. We love when managers are self-reliant superstars, but this behavior just creates codependency amongst team members. Gallup research tells us that one of the most important ways we can engage our teams is by providing opportunities and outlets for stimulating challenges, which positions delegation as the number one tool managers have to develop employees in the workplace. More so, with a perceived lack of opportunities to learn and grow in the workplace cited as the top reason that workers are quitting their jobs in recent years, it’s become even more essential that managers find ways to reengage their employees through fulfilling learning experiences.
Read Develop Successful Delegation Skills to Become a Better Manager
3.You cancel employee check-ins in consideration of time
When your weekly 1-on-1s with your direct reports feel as though they’re eating into your time to get more pressing tasks done, it’s possible that you’re underestimating the importance of this catch-up time. Not only do these sessions nurture workplace relationships, but they serve as a space to offer meaningful feedback and support to employees on a consistent basis. Gallup’s State of the American Manager Report shares that employees whose managers prioritize weekly check-ins are three times more likely to be engaged than employees whose managers don’t hold regular meetings with them––so yes, even a weekly 15-minute conversation can make a lasting impact!
Review Leadology’s most popular resource, that was even picked up by Forbes: The Simple Hack to Move Your Managers from Hectic to High-Performing
Create opportunities for your learning and development that supports your workplace efforts
If any of these three pitfalls resonated with you, you might be a good fit for our next round of Leadology’s premier leadership program Activate. With purposeful conversations, toolkits for success, and the support offered by a cohort of other leaders, managers from all backgrounds have the opportunity to engage in rewarding professional development that changes the way they approach feedback in their organizations.
Ready to get serious about your feedback conversations? Schedule a strategy call with us to learn more about how Activate is empowering leaders to leverage consistent 1-on-1s to see team growth and productivity skyrocket!
-Carrie & Team Leadology
