“He used to say that the only thing worth doing is what we do for others.”
Alice in ‘Alice: Through the Looking Glass’ (Disney 2016)
Good leaders know when they need to be in the driver’s seat and when they can be observant front-seat passengers. Good leaders know when their leadership of something will likely be more helpful than a hindrance. As the quote suggests, they know that leadership is about “what we do for others.”
The opposite is also true. Poor-quality leaders don’t realize there is a real difference between being helpful and being a hindrance. In their minds, they equate themselves with outstanding leadership. Of course, the truly great leader understands this difference and, with self-awareness, may even do something quite radical. They might even ask if they can help before taking action!
What motivates people to strive to be ‘the leader’ in every situation? Often, it relates to several underlying beliefs. Without aiming for an exhaustive list, these beliefs might include:
- A need to feel needed
- A need to be visible
- A need to feel and appear to be successful
- A need to feed their own insecurity by controlling the team
- A need to justify their position
- A need to ensure team members don’t leave
All of these arise from deep-seated personal issues. They indicate a noticeable lack of trust, care, and respect for team members. With an almost ‘messianic’ self-belief, their actions shout to the world that they are the savior of the side.
There are many issues related to this style of leadership. It doesn’t allow team members to grow personally and professionally. This is largely due to the low priority and investment of time in training and upskilling staff. On the surface, this may seem like a cost-saving measure, but if it adds to the stress of others or if the workplace fails to function properly when the leader is away, then it is a false saving. If a manager ‘needs’ to come in on their day off for a simple task because no one else ‘could possibly do it’ to their satisfaction, or to check on something from the other day, there is an obvious problem. It indicates a lack of trust in their staff and an unwillingness to delegate decision-making. This approach becomes problematic in professions requiring a certain number of hours over a set period to maintain professional accreditation. Imagine a surgeon being told that they can’t attend the latest professional development session on improved surgical techniques because it’s too expensive and they are needed here. Who would want to see a doctor who isn’t at the top of their game? In this scenario, the decision to micromanage could cost theater time, scheduling efficiency, and, dare I say, even a life. While this is extreme, it underscores a critical point. Whether it’s surgery or buying a suit, the outcome is critical.
Tom Peters made this astute observation in a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter):
“Opening line by new boss to his team. “Let’s get the organization chart right. I report to you and work for you. My premier goal is to enable your growth. And success. That is the bedrock from which Excellence and superior team performance arises.”
Peters, Tom. (24 January 2025). Post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) about Team Performance.
Think it through. The desire of some leaders to do everyone’s job effectively implies that the rest of the team is unnecessary. However, the catch is that if the team didn’t show up one day, most leaders would be lost, suddenly uncovering the unnoticed ‘out of role” tasks they often performed to keep things running smoothly. Realizing that it is impossible to do everyone’s job at the same time successfully can be life-changing. This unawareness that the problem is relational often lies at the heart of the issue, along with a lack of trust. In their longitudinal study “The Leadership Challenge,” James Kouzes and Barry Posner highlight this point and explain why it is an issue that needs to be addressed.
“Trust is the central issue in human relationships. Without trust, you cannot lead. Without trust, you can’t get people to believe in you or each other. Individuals who are unable to trust others fail to become leaders precisely because they can’t bear to be dependent on the words and works of others. They end up doing all the work themselves or supervising work so closely that they become micromanagers. Their lack of trust in others results in others not trusting them. To build and sustain social connections, trust must be reciprocal and reciprocated. Trust is not just what’s in your head; it’s also what’s in your heart.”
Kouzes, James, M., Posner, Barry, Z. (2023). The Leadership Challenge (Seventh Edition) (eBook). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Ch8. p304 of 535).
Putting the team at the center of your activities as a leader is key to the team’s success, and here’s the catch. If your team succeeds because of your supportive leadership, then your leadership has also been successful. Another point is that if your team thrives and enjoys their work, you will also find joy in leading them. Furthermore, this process fosters trust, and when trust levels are high within your team, productivity, customer satisfaction, and the team’s culture all improve. When you extend this approach across other teams in your organization, the organization’s overall culture will gradually enhance. You don’t need to micromanage the team because they naturally excel. This all stems from the effort you put into leading them effectively.
On the opposite end of the leadership spectrum is laissez-faire leadership. Originating from the French language, it translates to “allow to do.” Few would dispute the nobility of this concept. However, in practice, it results in minimal supervision, high levels of delegation, and often leaves team members to make decisions that would typically be handled upstream in other teams or organizations. Besides appearing distant to your team, laissez-faire leadership carries the risk of prompting a more senior leader to intervene and micromanage. If you adopt a broad yet sensible definition of leadership as “leadership is influence,” then both micromanaging and the laissez-faire approach likely fall short of this simple definition. It is challenging to exert influence when your micromanaging drives the team to the margins or when your interest is minimal in the laissez-faire approach.
“After more than five decades of observing leaders around the world and many years of developing my own leadership potential, I have come to this conclusion: Leadership is influence. That’s it—nothing more, nothing less. That’s why my favorite leadership proverb is ‘He who thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk.’”
Maxwell, John. C. (2018). Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 (eBook). Nashville: Tennessee. Harper Collins. (Ch 1. p13 of 255).
