Relationships at Work - The Leadership Guide to Building Workplace Connections and Avoiding Blind Spots.
Relationships at Work - your leadership guide to building workplace connections and avoiding blind spots.
A relatable and honest show on leadership, organizational culture and soft skills, focusing on improving employee engagement and company culture to inspire people to apply, stay and thrive.
Because no one wants leadership that fosters toxic environments at work, nor should they.
Host, speaker and communications leader Russel Lolacher shares his experience and insights, discussing the leadership and corporate culture topics that matter with global experts help us with the success of our organizations (regardless of industry). This show will give you the information, education, strategies and tips you need to avoid leadership blind spots, better connect with all levels of our organization, and develop the necessary soft skills that are essential to every organization.
From leadership development and training to employee satisfaction to diversity, inclusivity, equity and belonging to personalization and engagement... there are so many aspects and opportunities to build great relationships at work
This is THE place to start and nurture our leadership journey and create an amazing workplace.
Relationships at Work - The Leadership Guide to Building Workplace Connections and Avoiding Blind Spots.
Leader's Lead: The Problem With Passive Leadership
In this episode of Relationships at Work, communications and leadership nerd (and host) Russel Lolacher highlights the problem with passive leadership, what it looks like and how to change it in ourselves.
A survey from State University in New York found passive leadership led to employee role overload, role conflict and role ambiguity, which negatively impacted mental health.
Russel shares examples of passive leadership, why it could have bigger impacts to the culture than we might believe and steps to be more proactive in how we lead.
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Not too long ago, I was speaking with an executive on the topic of leaders and curiosity. I had been invited to present to this group of executive leaders on the impacts – intentional and unintentional of leadership and the importance of understanding what they could control, not control and needed to be aware of. It’s actually a pretty great presentation. Kinda proud of it.
One of the most important ingredients to great leadership is curiosity. So, in my presentation I suggested that those who want to be good leaders need to ask more questions of their staff - to get to know them, understand their challenges, steer them towards opportunities, avoid assumptions… all in a personalized way. You know, the good stuff.
Afterwards, we opened the room to questions. Always love where those conversations can go. One leader in the room raised their hand to engage with me on the value of asking more questions. It wasn’t something that came naturally to her. One of the excuses she used for not being so motivated in asking was… "Well, no one ever asks ME questions." Insert long pause here.
Well see, that right there is a problem. Let’s first forget the perceived self-centredness behind this….and focus more on the intention behind it. If we are a leader, we can’t be bystanders. This is what’s called Passive Leadership. Leadership Coach Ben Brearley on the Thoughful Leader blog defined it as: When leaders don’t take action.
Examples he gives:
- Failing to provide feedback
- Don’t manage poor performance
- Fail to make a decision
- Shy away from team issues
Passive leadership is disengagement, it’s inactive. It’s not proactive or reactive. It’s avoidance. A State University of New York at Buffalo defined passive leaders as those who avoid or delay taking necessary actions when problems arise. This might be seen in managers who refrain from rewarding and punishing employees when they should. They did a study of 2500 workers in the U.S. where the results were published in the Stress and Health Journal. The results of that survey were shared in an article from Queens University: The researchers discovered that passive leadership was positively related to role overload, role conflict, and role ambiguity, and that each one of these stressors was positively and independently related to mental work fatigue. They also found that when employees were psychologically worn out from work, their mental health was more likely to be negatively affected, as was their overall work attitudes.
So basically, doing nothing and waiting for others to lead, isn’t good leadership. I would argue it’s not even leadership. And it has horrible impacts on the culture. If we're waiting for others to do the things that will improve our workplace culture, then we're not leading. Hell, we're barely following.
Look at almost any resource on leadership and it stresses the importance of modelling the behaviour we want our cultures to look, act and feel like. Being tentative, passive and showing lack of initiative.. that is the behaviour we are modelling and demonstrating to our employees.
That is the culture we're saying we want. Here’s a few things to demonstrate your proactive leadership:
- Anticipate and Address Challenges: Assess risks, identify potential obstacles, and develop strategies to mitigate them before they become significant problems.
- Take Initiative: Don’t wait for instructions. Seek opportunities for improvement, innovation, and growth. Initiate projects, propose ideas, and take the lead in driving change and progress within their teams or organizations.
- Seek Feedback and Act on It: Actively solicit feedback from our team members, peers, and superiors. Be open to constructive criticism and use it as an opportunity for self-improvement.
So to the leader that relates to the statement… "Well, no one ever asks ME questions." Leaders lead. Make that first move so they see what it looks like to be a leader.
Your move.
