Ask Don't Tell Leadership - What If I Lose Control Of My Staff As A Leader?

You're a leader. You've assembled a team of engaged and passionate followers. And then, like you probably do every morning, one day you wake up and forget what little leadership skills you have. Your team is quick to notice that all your recent actions are based on the whims of your mood du jour. They are now questioning if they can trust you to lead them in the right direction or care about their success as much as your own. That's not the type of team that lives up to its full potential and strength . . . it's time for some expert help! We're here to share how we've helped many leaders regain control, even when they feel like there's no hope left for them or their teams. Our tips can be based on one of the two (2) scenarios below:

2. Ask Don't Tell Leadership – I Think I've Lost Control Of My Staff As A Leader - It's Not Just Me, Is It?

Hi! If you're taking a look at this article and its title you might be feeling the same thing as we did when we created this message. We found ourselves in a position where we had to discover how to gain back control of our teams, and fast! We had a ton of questions that kept replaying in our minds over and over as we tried to figure out what was going on with our staff leaders.  Have you been there too? It's not your fault if you have. – You are a manager, leader, or supervisor and you feel like you've lost control of your team . . . that's the most common situation we find ourselves handling for others. There's a reason for it – Sometimes senior staff members get used to being in charge and when something else happens that takes that away from them they push back. We call this ''managerial resistance.''  -  Looking at it from the other side, when senior staff members are forced to relinquish control of their people to another person or team (such as an outside consultant) they can be slow to support the new direction. This is called ''change resistance.''

How do you know if you're in control? How can you tell if someone else has taken over your leadership role? Well, to begin with, here's a list of some of the most common signs that might mean one person or another is trying to take control.

- Staff members are grumbling about decisions that have been made (just like you would if the situation were reversed). Or they are staying very quiet about a decision because this can be seen as an opportunity for change leadership. 

- They act disrespectful toward staff members or others when speaking to them. 

- They are overly critical of others' work and/or people skills. 

- They have to have their hand held in order to get the simplest tasks done. 

- You're getting lots of excuses for not being able to complete work on time or there are constant changes in priorities. 

- Your staff members can't say if they feel like they can rely on you. 

- They can't tell you why they want to do a task or project. 

- You see them checking out of the work environment early, or lessening their involvement with it. 

- Staff members are disengaged by not showing up when they're needed, or they're losing interest in the business that they're supposed to be responsible for. 

- You get little tips from staff members about what's going on in the business, and these tips don't seem to match what you observe from your managers. 

You're a leader and you're feeling like there is no way to regain control of your team (or at least some of it) . . . that's not a good feeling. Below, we'll share with you some steps you can take to begin moving toward control and getting your staff back on track. 

What are some strategies that you can use to get back in control of your team?

1. Set clear expectations and create a firm boundary for behavior from leadership.  - Clean up the clutter and make sure your team knows what is expected of them in terms of behavior.   Tell them how they will be rewarded (and non-rewarded) for certain behaviors. 

2. Be clear about rewards for good performance.  - When there is a reward system in place, it doesn't matter what is going on between you and your lead staff member. Make sure you know what actions are going to be rewarded (and non-rewarded) and make sure that things match up or the system will break down.

3. Reinforce team loyalty and trust by focusing on the entire team's success instead of rewarding only one leader's performance.  - When you focus on the whole team being successful even if certain people are not doing their job right, it starts to rebuild loyalty among them again.

4. Respect the expertise of your staff and be consistent about decisions.  - When you make a bad decision, try to understand why it went wrong. And then, once you've learned from it, be consistent about making the same kind of decision in the future.

5. Create a climate where everyone is clear about the goals of their team and is committed to reaching them.    - To do this, you need to start having team meetings before the end of each week or month -- at least once a quarter or so -- in order to help raise morale and pride in the work that your team has been doing

6. Help staff members understand how they're contributing to your overall success (and not just their own).    - To do this, you need to be the person who really knows the whole picture of how their job contributes to your success and how it can affect others.

7. Quit allowing staff members to be "saved" by others .  - Even if they feel that someone else is doing a better job than them or has more experience or knowledge than they do, you need to stand strong and make sure that team members know what contributions they're making toward the organization's success.

8. Make sure your staff leaders are "on board" with the direction of their organization.  - If someone is not on board with the direction of your organization or team, you should make this clear to them -- and make sure they know that they need to re-focus themselves (or look for a new job).

9. Never "get comfortable" in the situation that you're in with your staff members -- and remember that leadership can shift over time.  - Another thing to keep in mind is that this isn't something that will be solved overnight; it will take some time for you to regain control of your team members.

Conclusion

If you're a leader who has been feeling as if you've lost control of your team to another person or team, why not take a few days to consider the steps that have been laid out above and see if any of them can help you regain control of your staff?

It's something that every leader faces at some point in their career -- and it's important for you to know how to manage it.