Does Your Team See You as a Dictator?

by Rick White, President 180BIZ                                                      (Estimated Read Time 5 minutes)

We're talking about dictating or dictators. When I think of a dictator, immediately I think of Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin because my dad was a World War II buff. It’s an authoritarian rule. Things were done their way. End of story.

Are you a dictator?

What if I asked if you thought you were a dictator? What would your answer be? I'm sure it would range from “What?” to “Hell no!” I want to ask you a different question now. How would your team describe your leadership style? This is when the rubber hits the road right here because it's not what you think that matters. It's the people you're leading. It's their perception that matters.

Do you micromanage?

Why am I bringing this up? Because I believe there are too many shop owners out there who are dictating and are dictators. I don't mean you're evil or malignant. That's not what I'm saying. What I am saying is you have a problem and your problem is letting go. Your problem is letting other people do their jobs. When you feel like you must have a process for everything, that's a lack of trust. When you feel like you must babysit and micromanage everything because you have a hard time letting go. It's because you're so afraid of something going wrong that you can't let your team do what they're there to do. They have no agency, no authority, and nothing they can do on their own without asking you.

Does your team avoid making decisions?

And then here's the flip side of that. You're frustrated because your team won't make a decision without coming to you first. I wonder why? You can see an issue here. It’s that fear of letting go. It’s that fear of making a mistake. It’s that fear of not being perfect. But no one is perfect.

Do you want to have guardrails on this? Absolutely, you do. You want to define your playing field. But the biggest part of this is letting go and understanding people learn by mistakes. You make mistakes every day. I make mistakes every day. I used to tell my team, I don't need your help to look silly or stupid. I could do that all by myself.

Do you create “Daddy Syndrome?”

If you don't give them agency over what they're doing, you create daddy syndrome. And daddy syndrome is where they're afraid to decide on their own. Why? Because you scared it out of them. You want to dictate the outcome and collaborate on the path. You set the standard for what the outcome will look like, but then collaborate with your team on the path. That way, they have a part in it. They have a path. They feel like they helped create it. And that makes it easier for them to adopt and get behind it.

Start trusting your team.

So, stop being a dictator. Start trusting your team. Do you know why your team doesn't trust you? Because you don't trust them. Do you know why you don't have a better team? It's because you're not showing up as a team leader. You're showing up as someone who is constantly afraid. You’re afraid of not making enough money. You’re afraid of someone making a mistake. You’re afraid of having to deal with a customer or a client.

You can’t grow a business from a place of fear.

You can't grow a business from a place of fear. Now, we have a great webinar called “The Keys to REAL Delegating,” and that's in our Pocket Business Genius webinar series. If that's something you'd like to get into, that is a great place to start. I don't want you to think I'm saying give them the keys to the kingdom. What I'm saying is to start small. Let them show you what they can do. Give them a little at a time. But as you're doing that, you're giving them more authority. You're giving them the ability to control what and how they do things. Now, if the outcome is achieved and they're getting there at about the same time you are, it's all good.

We're unwrapping so many different things right now. We're unwrapping your concern, your fear, your worry about not having it perfect. We're unwrapping daddy syndrome and where that comes from. We’re wrapping up micromanagement, and babysitting. We're talking about how not to be a dictator and how to involve your team in this process, so they feel good about being there and realize they're making a difference. They're making a difference for their clients. They're making a difference for each other and the company. They're a part of something cool. That's what you are so worried about, making sure everything's done right.

You can help build your team’s confidence.

You don't realize that you're there to help build their confidence because when they are highly confident in themselves, not arrogant, but when they are highly confident, they become a team member. You cannot have a team member until they come to the team with confidence because they're not going to open up, be vulnerable, and help others because they're afraid of being wrong. They're afraid that you will see they're not any good. That's a lack of confidence. You want to be able to help them with it.

Please share this video. There is someone out there who is pushing their team away right now, and I wondered if it's maybe you. So if you think that this would help someone, please share this video.

We have our Shop Owner’s Round Table, on the second Thursday of every month, 7 p.m. Eastern, and we would love you and your friends to drop by. Shop owners only. And then we have our upcoming Pocket Business Genius webinar on the second Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern time. 

God bless. stay safe, have some fun, and go make some money.  Take care.

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