Want the best out of the people you’re tasked to supervise? Then lay off, don’t micromanage and give them the trust and space to become leaders in their own right. You’ll be amazed by the results, writes Gasant Abarder in a new #SliceofGasant column.
Life is tough with rising food costs, people considering dipping into their pension funds now that has been cleared by the president and are up to their ears in debt. The last thing they want is to come to work and be anxious about how the boss is going to treat them.
I’ve been in management roles since I was in my late 20s. But don’t mistake being a supervisor or a manager for being a leader. A leader nurtures the next tranche of leaders.
In those early days as a deputy editor of a daily newspaper, I had a lot to learn about leadership. I was emotionally immature and tried to copy my predecessor’s style, who was uncompromising. It didn’t work.
There was virtually no age gap with the people I was managing. I tried to be a hard case and may or may not have thrown a chair across a newsroom once but I quickly learnt that not every person you manage is the same. Some respond to an arm around the shoulder, reminding them daily that they’re doing great. Others are quite happy to get a kick up the butt and a bollocking. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.
In my next role, at 31, I was the editor of the Cape Argus – the youngest ever in the paper’s storied history. I walked into a newsroom where there were people double my age and I was now their boss. I was determined to be a different kind of boss. My intention was to shield these talented and creative people from the politics in management and create a bubble of fun that was conducive to getting the best out of them.
This is not the same as trying to be popular or not being firm when you need to be. But it’s about giving creative people the space to do their thing and that requires trust. And, perhaps more importantly, I kept reminding myself not to be a clockwatcher, that we don’t work in a bank and that we need to maintain a work-life balance because people have families, partners, plants and pets.
There were a few memorable cricket Test matches in the corridor of the Argus newsroom where I perfected my straight drive and a few stray footballs nearly knocked over a few workstations. But I was confident my team would run through brick walls for the paper and that was all I needed.
The main thrust of what I learnt from experiences with bad bosses was that the enemy of productivity was micro-managing and wanting every project to be perfect. Instead, I spent about 5% of my time in the corner office and walked the newsroom, having quick chats on the fly and rolling up my sleeves on deadline, so I could be visible and accessible.
I vowed to be forthright and encourage people to speak up. This was after a day in my working life that I can honestly say was the worst ever when a boss ignored me for an entire day. He was angry at me, and I was none the wiser why. I went home that day feeling miserable and resolved that I would never be that guy.
I’ve also experienced workplaces where there is a monopoly of ideas and a stellar contribution from a junior would be laughed off in a meeting. I’ve had one of the best editorial ideas emanate from a cleaning lady. Instead, heap praise when colleagues achieve something great and allow people to learn from mistakes rather than dumping all over them.
I now run a small media unit for an organisation located far from all the things people need, like their doctor, vet, a pharmacy or just a regular shop. It’s important to give people the space to do what they need to do. They have a lot on their plates, and life is hard with the odds stacked against us all.
I work with incredibly talented colleagues, but I always remind them that they work to live and not live to work. It is important to be compassionate, to listen and create an environment where they feel the sky is the limit in terms of what they can achieve.
We get mad in the office with impromptu karaoke sessions and lots of laughter. But when it’s time to knuckle down, they break their backs. I refer to them as my colleagues and I never call myself their boss. They have won awards, broken through glass ceilings with multimedia content, learnt new skills and have been innovative.
I don’t consider myself a leader just yet. I’m a work in progress. But if I can make life just a bit easier for the people I work with, like sending them home earlier when we have down time, I do it. It’s amazing how that translates into these colleagues treating me like family with genuine concern for my welfare.
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