Are you micromanaging employees to leave?

When I first started my career journey, I wasn’t sure when I could or could not use my voice.

More often than not, I would bite my tongue to spare myself a difficult conversation.

I always considered this an act of class.

I was taking the “higher road”.

I was “taking one for the team”.

I was “respecting authority”.

I’m not sure of the exact time when I realized my tongue had callouses from every chomp, but it happened.

You see, I always fought the idea that I couldn’t be a kind or loyal employee AND question company direction.

That was truly toxic thinking.

You CAN be a valuable, loyal, kind, and vital employee even if you ask questions.

EVEN if you disagree with management.

EVEN if you challenge an idea.

EVEN if you have to have difficult conversations.

I once had a work environment where I was told my job was to “agree with my boss” and run around sprinkling positivity in a broken culture.

I was quite literally sent to different buildings to sprinkle this magical emotion to people who wanted nothing to do with me, the culture, nor the new management.

When I would “report back” about any concerns that I had during those visits, I was quickly put in my place that it was not my job to identify areas of concern.

It was only my job to sprinkle fairy dust.

I was a tutu and wand away from literally being a living positivity fairy.

Let’s be honest, nobody wants to see this in tights.

So why do some of us remain quiet?

Here’s the issue:

When you work in an environment that is micromanaged, you lose yourself.

Maybe it isn’t even losing yourself as much as not being allowed to even find yourself.

In that type of environment, you are sucking the potential out of people.

You are harvesting anxiety and nurturing power.

That scenario is truly disturbing.

Perhaps this is why so many of us have found ourselves without a voice.

We are trained in these types of situations to be obedient.

Don’t make waves.

Don’t disagree.

Don’t … just don’t.

All that does is create little robotic soldiers with zero empowerment to live and work towards their fullest potential.

How many good employees have fallen through the cracks because they were unable to perform in a way that made them comfortable, heard, and valued?

When you hire someone, you are taking a chance.

It’s true.

Just like a first date, or that first bite of spicy food, or that one time you chose to wear white to a spaghetti dinner…

You take a chance.

When you do that, you must relinquish some of that control.

You have made a choice and now you must see how it plays out.

Yes, you can train.

You can nurture.

You can be the example.

But in the end, that employee NEEDS to be trusted to not only do their job, but to do it without being peered on like some episode of Big Brother.

That employee needs to feel empowered enough to chat with you on a level where they can suggest changes, talk about differences, and ultimately pave the way for their job to best keep moving forward.

They need to feel that they can speak to you without being shut down, hushed, or interrupted.

Listen micromanagers, you can’t control everything.

AND you shouldn’t want to.

A leader is someone that can value the talents of another person and allow them the TRUST and RESPECT to do their jobs.

The freedom to use their voice for suggestions, changes, and questions without the fear of retaliation.

The platform to SHINE in the best way they can in an environment that applauds their moxie.

There is no ladder.

There is no ultimate step on that staircase of success that gives you the go ahead to clip the wings of the people that you lead.

There are only humans, working as hard as they can to find their place in this world that makes clocking in every single day not seem like a chore, but rather a purpose.

This is your sign, dear leader.

You are killing your good employees with your inability to trust their work and hear their words.

It’s time.

Nanci Wilson

Nanci Wilson

Nanci started her credit union journey due to lack of kindness. That fact is what led her to close her bank account and open up at a credit union. Ultimately ... Web: https://lcul.com Details