Have you ever seen The Truman Show? 

Or maybe you have read George Orwell’s 1984? 

At the very least I’m sure you’re aware of Big Brother! 

Did you ever feel like that? Like every part of your life is being observed? Like there were eyes everywhere? 

Well, the Truman Show Delusion is real, if not officially recognised. And if you have ever experienced that feeling, or even just indulged in any of my cultural references, you will know how uncomfortable it is! 

So, imagine if every time you went to work, you had someone over your shoulder, watching, telling you what to do at every turn. I don’t know about you but that sounds way to claustrophobic! 

But for some, this microscopic, forensic, fine-toothed comb approach is a reality.  

Often it comes from a place of passion for the business, wanting to see things done right and done well, but ultimately there is more harm than good in instructing employees every move. 

So, what are the Issues? 

It’s Off-putting 

It’s pretty obvious and if this is all that happens you are probably quite lucky, but at its most basic level, this sort of management style is distracting.  

If you feel like you are constantly watching your back it is harder to concentrate on the task at hand. You are going to be more self-conscious and are more likely to procrastinate and put stuff off for fear of doing something wrong. 

You Are Not Creating Trust  

Leading on from this, and taking it to a more extreme, but still very real, case, those working under a microscope of instruction are likely going to feel like they aren’t trusted in their position.  

If everything you do is analysed to within an inch of its life the minute you complete it, it is going to be disheartening and again you will create issues of procrastination as they just don’t feel they can take the risk.  

But, as a manager, there is a greater issue here than procrastination. If staff are put off, even feeling untrusted, they are likely to just leave. And one thing worse than staff that may not always complete tasks exactly as you envisaged, is not having enough staff at all! 

They Don’t or Can’t Learn 

I touched on this in last week’s blog but as part of the role of a manager and a leader, it is important to facilitate learning for employees.  

This allows them to thrive more independently within their team, and also sets them up as leaders for the future as your business expands.  

So, if they are only every instructed, task by task, with to the letter instructions, you are depriving them of the chance to learn how the business operates, how they can add value, and how they can get the most out of themselves too! 

This means that in an expanding business, when you are forced to delegate, there will be no one capable of assuming that leader mantle as they have never been required to use independent thought in their roles, or the running of the business. 

It’s not just them! 

It’s not only your teams and employees that will suffer under constant instruction, you will too! 

The two main issues are… 

Burnout 

If you are constantly putting it on yourself to always manage and instruct every member of your team, they won’t be the only ones who end up feeling overwhelmed! 

That sort of approach is just not sustainable.  

If you put the stress on yourself to basically do the job of your whole workforce, you will only end up getting more stressed than if you had to just alter and edit the odd project or task. 

In the end that stress will inevitably build up to the point of breaking and then…BANG!  

BURNOUT. 

And then, all your worries of “is everything I want being done how I want?” are out the window as you won’t be able to manage anything at all! 

Loosening that rope that you tie around your employees will make it easier for you both to work, and also lengthen the fuse, meaning you can continue to build your business and its identity without the worry of crashing! 

No Time 

This is maybe more self-explanatory. If you are always instructing everything everyone does, how are you going to have anytime left for yourself?  

This goes for both in your business and in your own time. If you are concerned with everyone else during work hours, you won’t be able to complete your own tasks within those hours. 

That means you take them home with you and they eat into your own time. Then when do you relax? When do you socialise? You can’t!  

Not only is this detrimental to that good old work-life balance, it can also lead to our not so good burnout. And then we are back again, at a point where nothings getting done! And not to mention the family and friends who start to drift away because you are not present. 

Maybe it’s time to take a step back, to breathe a little and see what your team is really capable of? 

After all there must have been a reason you hired them in the first place! 

However, maybe this still feels like a daunting thing to do, to release this thing you have nurtured and built in your vision?  

I totally understand. 

So why not why not book in a Team Performance Strategy Session here and we can find out what’s working and what’s not, and find 3 strategies that will help you to get started on the journey of taking a step back and creating a confident and capable team in your business. 

Let’s see how we can help you to create a mindset and the environment to begin delegating, and giving away a little bit of the control! 

You can also email me at [email protected]  

Julie “Chief Impact Engineer” Hutchison 

P.S. Whenever you are ready...here are 4 ways I can help you increase your impact as a leader: 

1. Join The "Quiet Leaders With Impact™ Facebook Group and connect with other leaders who want to grow 

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3. Join our Quiet Leaders Launchpad™ Mastermind Group Programme 

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Email me with “IMPLEMENT” in the subject line and we can discuss how you can join us 

4. Work with me and my team privately 

If you or your team just need a little more one to one attention to make change happen in your business... just reply to this message and put “PRIVATE” in the subject line... tell me a little about your business and what you’d like to work on together, and I’ll get you all the details!