Absolutely love love love this. It’s the perfect example of how to get the best out of your employees and keep your balance as a manager. Barking orders all day and creating chaos doesn’t help anyone—not your team and definitely not the company’s bottom line.
I advocate for this constantly: treat your employees well, and they’ll return that tenfold.
Thank you, Bette! If you give your workers more trust and ownership of their work, won’t that more quickly reveal the good AND bad workers? The ones that perform well with less supervision, maybe they need to be elevated or given more responsibility. The ones that don’t work well with less direct supervision, maybe you just found a bad fit for your company. Seems like a win-win, if companies can forego their love of micromanaging.
Leading from influence rather than control is such a critical shift in becoming an effective leader, especially if we want to develop a team that truly operates on trust.
Hi Josh! I just saw an interview with a startup where the founder said they adopted a ‘unlimited holidays’ policy. What they found was that after a year, productivity was up 40%, while the amount of vacation time taken actually stayed the same. The founder said the secret was in ‘treating adults like they are adults and trusting them to make smart decisions’. Appreciate your thoughts!
It’s like when you finally give someone what they’ve been chasing. Suddenly, it’s not as urgent anymore. Once they know the time or access is there, the pressure disappears. They stop clinging to it because they’re no longer stuck in a scarcity mindset.
I know you advocate for this all the time Josh. Trying to control your workers is the fastest way to create a culture of distrust, disengagement, and high turnover.
I so agree with this... trust is part of good communication and essential for good relationships... I suspect the skill of communicating and trusting others is so eroded that it sucks the life out of productivity
A high trust organisation is vastly underrated Mack. You’ve illustrated perfectly why trust is integral to happy team members which results in happy high performance organisations. I don’t mean blind trust, I mean smart trust and there’s an art to it.
Hi Michelle, and thank you! I agree on their being an art to extending and receiving trust. I liked Neela’s comment about the boss that asks new employees what they needed to do their best work. A question like that sets the tone that the organization appreciates the value the employee can create and understands their potential. I will work harder for someone that respects and believes in me. Have a great weekend!
What a great way to lead the team, Mack - by stepping back and letting them get on with it. But knowing when to intervene, celebrate, support takes it up a level. Everyone responds better when there is trust and care.
Thank you, Lisa! I agree, and trusting the individual team members makes everyone more invested in the team as a whole. Wish these companies were smart enough to hire us :). Have a good weekend!
Couldn’t agree more. My most productive job ever was the one where my manager asked what I needed to do my best work, and then he actually listened. If you need to hover, it’s not your team that’s the problem. It’s your systems.
I’m the same - just give me a direction and let me do my thing. I don’t need someone hovering over me or needing constant updates. Trust me to get the job done.
Yes I do too, plus I honestly think many managers worry if remote is embraced, it will show that worker productivity increases when they have LESS contact with the manager. Which could lead THEIR bosses to asking what are we paying you for? LOL
I think that’s definitely part of it. A lot of it comes down to control. I read an interview with Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, where he said he prefers people in the office because then he knows where they are. He mentioned calling on a Friday and no one picking up. So he assumes they’re not working. Well, Jamie, maybe they’re not answering because they need a mental break. And maybe that mindset of constant surveillance is exactly why.
Right, and the need for control comes from not trusting your workers, IMO. I think it makes sense to at least consider if remote work can help in any scenario where the work can actually be done remotely. It doesn’t hurt to do a trial run, it might be that productivity greatly increases! Maybe even a hybrid approach can be used.
Hi! I definitely think remote work should be considered on a case by case basis. So many companies are either adopting it 100% or banning it completely, and I don’t think either approach is healthy. For some employees and even teams, remote work will always make sense, for some it never will. But to completely adopt or completely ban is just limiting options IMO. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Trust is critical. Train our people well. Listen hard. Keep involved. And trust them to get the job done. I also had an open days off policy. Don’t ask me I would say just put your day off up on the board. And give me lots of notice so I can find cover. It worked so well. We were all adults. Great post. Thank you!
Exactly Cecilia - and that’s the kind of leadership where people respect their boss. If more leaders leaned into this style, they would find they had a much happier and engaged workforce 😊
I'd offer that micromanagement not only negatively impacts productivity, it wrecks professional relationships with employees (team members). It's a big risk and bigger error.
YES yes and yes to all of that Michael. No one wants to be micromanaged. You should not be running your office or organization like a kindergarten classroom. You are working with adults.
Absolutely love love love this. It’s the perfect example of how to get the best out of your employees and keep your balance as a manager. Barking orders all day and creating chaos doesn’t help anyone—not your team and definitely not the company’s bottom line.
I advocate for this constantly: treat your employees well, and they’ll return that tenfold.
Thanks, Mack, for the collaboration.
Thank you, Bette! If you give your workers more trust and ownership of their work, won’t that more quickly reveal the good AND bad workers? The ones that perform well with less supervision, maybe they need to be elevated or given more responsibility. The ones that don’t work well with less direct supervision, maybe you just found a bad fit for your company. Seems like a win-win, if companies can forego their love of micromanaging.
I’m not sure either, Lisa. At first I thought it was just based off an increase in subs, but I think it’s more than that. Will be watching…
Leading from influence rather than control is such a critical shift in becoming an effective leader, especially if we want to develop a team that truly operates on trust.
Hi Josh! I just saw an interview with a startup where the founder said they adopted a ‘unlimited holidays’ policy. What they found was that after a year, productivity was up 40%, while the amount of vacation time taken actually stayed the same. The founder said the secret was in ‘treating adults like they are adults and trusting them to make smart decisions’. Appreciate your thoughts!
It’s like when you finally give someone what they’ve been chasing. Suddenly, it’s not as urgent anymore. Once they know the time or access is there, the pressure disappears. They stop clinging to it because they’re no longer stuck in a scarcity mindset.
Such a great point!
I know you advocate for this all the time Josh. Trying to control your workers is the fastest way to create a culture of distrust, disengagement, and high turnover.
I am just passing through to say hiiiii and Happy Wednesday :)
I cannot believe it's May already :(
I know - I’m still thinking it’s March!!!
I just said “Happy New Year” lol
You are always ahead of the curve. Happy Birthday :)
Happy Wednesday and Happy May, sis 🥰
Thank you :)
I so agree with this... trust is part of good communication and essential for good relationships... I suspect the skill of communicating and trusting others is so eroded that it sucks the life out of productivity
A high trust organisation is vastly underrated Mack. You’ve illustrated perfectly why trust is integral to happy team members which results in happy high performance organisations. I don’t mean blind trust, I mean smart trust and there’s an art to it.
Hi Michelle, and thank you! I agree on their being an art to extending and receiving trust. I liked Neela’s comment about the boss that asks new employees what they needed to do their best work. A question like that sets the tone that the organization appreciates the value the employee can create and understands their potential. I will work harder for someone that respects and believes in me. Have a great weekend!
What a great way to lead the team, Mack - by stepping back and letting them get on with it. But knowing when to intervene, celebrate, support takes it up a level. Everyone responds better when there is trust and care.
Thank you, Lisa! I agree, and trusting the individual team members makes everyone more invested in the team as a whole. Wish these companies were smart enough to hire us :). Have a good weekend!
Ha ha - sadly the ones who need help most are usually the last to ask. Enjoy the weekend, Mack.
Oh and Lisa, congrats for making the Rising list in the International category 😎
Thanks, Mack. I have no idea what that means, but rising sounds good🤣
Click your profile and it shows your rank in Rising for International category!
Thanks, Mack! I have seen it but I wonder what it means - is it about views, engagement or subscribers. I’m growing pretty slowly, so I’m not sure.
Thank you Lisa, you too!
Couldn’t agree more. My most productive job ever was the one where my manager asked what I needed to do my best work, and then he actually listened. If you need to hover, it’s not your team that’s the problem. It’s your systems.
Well done, Mack & Bette :)
Happy Thursday to you both.
Asking a worker "What do you need to do your best work?" is such a power move. It just sets the tone, doesn't it? Happy Thursday, sis!
It does and when I used to onboard humans that was one of the questions I would ask often.
I’m the same - just give me a direction and let me do my thing. I don’t need someone hovering over me or needing constant updates. Trust me to get the job done.
Even the vaguest directions will suffice lol
I’m definitely onboard with telling people what needs to be done and letting them figure out how to do it.
I think a lot of back to office is driven by managers that can only crisis and micro manage.
Yes I do too, plus I honestly think many managers worry if remote is embraced, it will show that worker productivity increases when they have LESS contact with the manager. Which could lead THEIR bosses to asking what are we paying you for? LOL
Yes, I do think there is some of that too. What do I have to do as a manager if I don’t have someone to babysit lol
I think that’s definitely part of it. A lot of it comes down to control. I read an interview with Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, where he said he prefers people in the office because then he knows where they are. He mentioned calling on a Friday and no one picking up. So he assumes they’re not working. Well, Jamie, maybe they’re not answering because they need a mental break. And maybe that mindset of constant surveillance is exactly why.
Right, and the need for control comes from not trusting your workers, IMO. I think it makes sense to at least consider if remote work can help in any scenario where the work can actually be done remotely. It doesn’t hurt to do a trial run, it might be that productivity greatly increases! Maybe even a hybrid approach can be used.
Exactly. But a lot of these companies know that it can be because of covid. They just want employees back in the office.
Hi! I definitely think remote work should be considered on a case by case basis. So many companies are either adopting it 100% or banning it completely, and I don’t think either approach is healthy. For some employees and even teams, remote work will always make sense, for some it never will. But to completely adopt or completely ban is just limiting options IMO. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Could not agree more. There are just some jobs you can't do remotely. But for those you can offer that flexibility, I think you absolutely should.
Trust is critical. Train our people well. Listen hard. Keep involved. And trust them to get the job done. I also had an open days off policy. Don’t ask me I would say just put your day off up on the board. And give me lots of notice so I can find cover. It worked so well. We were all adults. Great post. Thank you!
Exactly Cecilia - and that’s the kind of leadership where people respect their boss. If more leaders leaned into this style, they would find they had a much happier and engaged workforce 😊
Yes Cecilia, I agree. Respect your workers and trust them to do the job you hired them for. Get out of their damn way!
I'd offer that micromanagement not only negatively impacts productivity, it wrecks professional relationships with employees (team members). It's a big risk and bigger error.
YES yes and yes to all of that Michael. No one wants to be micromanaged. You should not be running your office or organization like a kindergarten classroom. You are working with adults.
I agree completely! It's actually a productivity killer in almost every case.