A leader not paying attention? It could be a good thing.
I was coaching a senior professional last week who had been promoted quite recently. As a result, he seemed happy but not quite.
A leader not paying attention
His concern was that his leader was not paying close enough attention to his team. His peers received a lot of attention from this leader. The leader would sit down with those teams, go over their numbers and ask pointed questions, thereby spending a considerable amount of time.
However, when it came to this team, the leader paid scant attention.
Questions for self-reflection
I asked him a couple of questions: What if the leader considered you to be in complete control of the ‘business’? What if the leader was spending more time where it mattered, where he needed to examine the ‘audit trails’? What if this could be a reflection of your leadership quotient, which is why you have been promoted?
He smiled. It seemed to make sense.
Leaders’ Return on Investment
In today’s world, Leaders are getting pulled in different directions. Their time is precious. Consequently, they spend that time where it is most likely to deliver them a return on their investment.
When a leader spends scant attention to your team, it could mean that you are in control. Of course, you have to look out for the other symbols and signs. Such symbols and signs could come in the form of great feedback for your team, high employee engagement, zero escalations, and excellent customer feedback.
If your leader spends much less time with your team as compared to the other teams, it could mean you are in control. Just make sure you look at the other signs and symbols before you come to this conclusion.
If you do come to this conclusion, go out and celebrate. And make sure you take your team with you.
And just in case the team is feeling skeptical about this, make sure you let the team know. A leader not paying attention? Tell them that for this team, it is actually a good thing.
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