Monthly Update - September 2021
Welcome to the September Love Leading Collection Monthly Update!!
As a quick reminder - the Monthly Update is a summary of the #FridayShares from the previous month. The Monthly Update expands on what was shared, making it a resource for personal development or to inspire you as you develop others.
You don’t have to cover it all in one go, maybe do a section a week. This is designed to help you to keep learning, enabling you to Love Leading
Friday Share 9 - “Confessions of a recovering micromanager” - Chieh Huang
This is such an interesting topic, it is an area that line managers need to be very aware of - as well as wary of. There are many impacts of micromanaging.
Take a moment - when have you felt micro-managed? What did that feel like?
This clip is about 12 minutes long but Chieh is incredibly engaging and tells some funny and relatable stories as part of this TED Talk.
I love the definition provided at the start of this clip and the reflections being made of the impact of micro-management. The importance of and impact of control and autonomy. So, why do we micro-manage? Because normally we know how to do the job and have progressed from doing that job ourselves.
When you become the manager and manager of managers, can you ‘let go’ of the job? I also love Chieh’s attitude and approach to things not going so well, what you can learn and benefit from stepping away from the micro-management and actually trusting your people.
Now think about the following for your own leadership approach:
What does control for you mean?
How are you currently demonstrating control?
Is that having a positive and negative impact - on you or others?
How much trust do you have in your team?
What are the 3 things you are going to do to reduce your need for control and your level of micro-managment?
Friday Share 10 - “Blame” - Brené Brown
Up next is the wonderful Brené Brown - one of my absolute favourites. If you have not read or listened to her book ‘Dare to Lead’ then I highly recommend it, I would say it was a turning point for me and my approach to leading.
This clip is only a few minutes but before you start ask yourself - am I a blamer?
Enjoy the clip and then let’s consider this some more and what it means for you as a leader.
So, are you a “blamer”? Be honest about it…
I love the honesty of this clip, Brené is open about her feelings here but what she shares about the research is so interesting. What she shares about the reality of what blame is really, makes me recognise that blame isn’t about others, it is about me!
If I am blaming others then I am discharging my own discomfort and I am not holding others or myself to account. I find that so powerful. That need to blame becomes a barrier for empathy, which is essential for great leadership.
What reflections do you have from this clip?
A few things for you to consider for your leadership practice:
How do I really think and feel when something doesn’t go to plan?
Am I looking for and demonstrating blame?
What impact is this having?
Am I holding people to account properly?
What are the 2-3 things you need to do to ensure that you can properly hold others and yourself to account, to avoid blaming?
Friday Share 11 - “Compassionate Leadership” - Quote from Jacinda Ardern
This was a question to consider: What does compassionate leadership look or feel like to you?
Now consider the following for your own leadership approach:
How do you feel about this quote from Jacinda?
What does compassionate leadership mean for you?
When have you felt compassion from others?
How do you demonstrate compassion as a leader?
After answering those questions, why not do some more research yourself, about compassionate leadership, its value and how you can develop these skills further.
Something else you may want to look at is the article I published on LinkedIn on 1st September 2021 - I shared my thoughts on considering ‘hybrid’ working differently and that considering ‘personalised performance’ would be more valuable.
Here it is: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:ugcPost:6838764732330110976?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28*%2Curn%3Ali%3AugcPost%3A6838764732330110976%29
