Being a Helicopter Boss is just like Helicopter Parenting except you do it in the workplace.
Every single Boss/Leader/Manager/Parent does their helicoptering with really good intentions. They mean well and want everything to go smoothly. They want to make life easy for everyone and get the best possible product
out there with the least number of errors possible.
They hover constantly, paying attention to every move, watching closely so that they can swoop in and be the rescuer whenever their staff member [or child or young adult] is challenged or finding things a bit tough. They want to be liked by their team and/or their children.
However, one interesting thing is this: When we want everyone to like us, we lower our standards and this desire to be liked means that having a difficult conversation around the quality of someone’s work or the state of their bedroom becomes a tough gig and just plain awkward – because you want them to like you.
Giving feedback is a critical component in the leadership role of manager or boss [and as a parent], however feedback that gives the solution to every problem or challenge is not actually feedback. As much as we might want to believe that it is actually micro-management.
Does any of this sound familiar to you?
Yep!! Some support and working closely with your team and/or your children is necessary however there is a fine line between just enough and toooooo much. Let’s look at what happens when Helicoptering becoming your default leadership or parenting behaviour.
Three harsh realities of Helicopter Leadership are:
>When you are always available to your team, you dis-empower them. You take away any opportunity they have for personal growth by giving the answers and your advice freely to them.
>You build reliance on you which demotivates your team. They never have to figure out anything for themselves because you will always tweak it or improve it or fix it up – usually without talking to them about it.
>You become exhausted because you are always in the middle of everything answering questions that they could answer themselves, checking in to see whether something is finished yet, sitting in on meetings that others should be leading, dealing with constant interruptions and fixing things up so that they are just the way that you would do it.
STOP IT!!
You are not doing yourself, your business, your staff members, your children, your team etc etc any good whatsoever. The hovering and rescuing must stop if you want your team and your business to grow.
So………………what can you do to minimise your Helicoptering tendencies?
Check out these strategies below.
>Teach your staff how to do something and then let them go and do it. Allow them to falter or fail because this is where the greatest lessons are. Each time they do something new they will become familiar with it and build towards perfection.
>Focus on the bigger picture for your business. Learn to do the things you need to do to achieve your customer and financial targets and give your staff the space to do the things they need to do – contractors and consultants included.
>Teach your staff how to manage their time at work. Lead by example, helping them to stay focused on their role and the contribution they make to the business as a whole.
>Embrace the role of coaching and influencing your team. Allow and encourage them to solve their own problems by asking them powerful questions about how they would deal with the situation.
The next time you find yourself helicoptering around your team, remember that your role is to teach, model behaviour and be a resource for your team and NOT to hover over them, making every single decision.
Trust yourself to trust them.