Are your Staff Taking Advantage of you?

This is a topic that seems to be coming up a lot recently. So, are your staff taking advantage of you or is it a perceived problem? Either way the solution is within your control and this article will show you show you why.

What do you suspect?

Do you think that when you are not with them, the team slow down and become less productive, spend too much time talking, take longer breaks, waste time on social media or have sloppy time keeping?  If yes, continue reading…

Is this a real problem or simply your insecurity?

Take a good look at the situation and ask yourself the tough question, is this a real problem or simply my perception?

Is there a loss of productivity? What evidence do you have? If you have evidence in relation to KPI’s not being met, then you have a case to sit down with the member of staff and find out the reasons.  It may be that they’re not taking advantage, but other issues in the workplace or personal reasons are playing a part. Always get advice from an HR expert before arranging the meeting.

If there is no loss of productivity, maybe are they simply happier when you are not there?

If they are doing everything expected of them, they may just be more effective as a team when you are not there. If this is the case, you need to have a think about why this is the case?

One way or another the answer lies with you as the boss. To quote Hopper, in the Disney movie a Bug’s Life, “First rule of leadership Princess: everything is your fault.” 

Investigate ways to gain feedback from your team, regular 121 meetings are a great way to do this.

If your team don’t know what you expect of them, they are very unlikely to deliver

When having conversations around productivity and efficiency my first question is usually “do your team know what is expected of them?” Have you taken the time to clearly explain what their role is, how it fits into the aims and objectives of their team, department and the business?

In practical terms you can ensure their personal Role Description is up to date, including the Key Performance goals you expect them to achieve. As a team make sure they agree how they are going to work together (e.g. to ensure the phone is always answered in a timely manner, they will raise issues, work together in the most efficient manner).

Put simply, ensure they know what you expect of them, so they know what you expect them to deliver in their role whether you are with them or not.

Are you a victim of your leadership style?

I’ve just finished reading “Turn the Ship Around” by David Marquet. It is his story about how he led the transformation of the US Nuclear Submarine, USS Santa Fe, by moving from the traditional Leader-Follower naval model to a Leader-Leader model, in the process taking the Santa Fe from the worst performing to the best in the fleet. It’s a great book with some fantastic learning about leadership which can be applied to any organisation.

To use David’s terminology, is your organisation a Leader-Follower where everyone looks to you for their next action or a Leader-Leader where everyone is able to define their own work. This requires you, as the leader, to put in place a framework where everyone knows what the business objectives are, how they are to be achieved and everyone feels engaged to make it happen.

More importantly, your team need to know that you will support them to achieve the goals and encourage them to identify and implement the best solution.

This is a lot easier to do in theory than in practice, most managers have their way to complete a task and don’t want to risk it being done a different way; even if that way is better. You need to learn how to monitor progress without dictating how it is done.

Can you change the culture?

Also, look at what sort of culture your team has. Are they all working as a team or is everyone just looking out for themselves?

If you regularly hear phrases like “it’s not my fault”, “I would have done it but…” and there is a lot of finger-pointing going on you may have inadvertently nurtured the wrong culture.

Patrick Lencioni’s “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” is one of my favourite books on the subject, partially because it is told as a story so is an easy read. Patrick describes the 5 behaviours that if left unchecked stop a team performing at its optimum, even if your team is performing well, addressing the 5 dysfunctions will take them to the next level!  

If all else fails, get expert advice

If you’ve tried all the above, sometimes some form of disciplinary action may be required, and if it is, I would strongly recommend talking to your HR expert before taking any action.

Sit back and reflect on where you are 

So, let me ask you again.  Is there a real problem with your employees taking advantage or is it a perceived problem?  As I said before, the solution is within your control!

Remember to make time to ensure everyone knows what is expected of them, and know exactly how you are measuring their performance.

Don’t forget, the aim is to create an effective team that understand the bigger picture, manage their tasks on their own (because they know what to do and what is expected) and they are not there to simply be dictated to daily.  Allow your team to think for themselves and take responsibility of their daily performance and always let them know you are there to support them.

Ask about my leadership workshops and 121 coaching by emailing me at rupertturton@actioncoach.com