Is your leadership like a kindergarten?

Recently, I had the pleasure to watch the presentation of a human resources expert. It was about how to motivate employees - even with remote working and other difficulties.

The main part of the presentation was about how to help employees stay motivated and enjoy their work. The message between the lines was this: "People are lost when they work alone at home. So, we have to help them."

What bothers me about this? Well, quite simply: It goes in the completely wrong direction. Instead of strengthening personal responsibility and trusting team members to help themselves completely, well-intentioned advice is given. Instead of asking strong questions, instructions are given.

Unfortunately, I see this again and again from HR people, as well as from line managers: Instead of strengthening people in their independence, they are told what to do.

Do you think that sometimes there is no other way? Well, here are three ideas for giving your team more personal responsibility:

1. Remove rules. Many organizations I see are virtually suffocating in explicit and implicit rules. "That's how we do things here" is omnipresent. The problem: basically, every rule reduces the motivation to think for yourself. And rules grow like weeds. Therefore, regularly tear out superfluous rules and thereby promote independent thinking.
2. Expect education. Explicitly promote a culture of ongoing personal growth. In my experience, most people hardly ever develop their personality in a targeted way; e.g. through books, online courses or coaching. If people do not learn to think better, it is naturally tempting to introduce even more rules (see point 1).
3. Ask questions. It works wonders if you ask open questions instead of giving instructions. The best way to do this is to ask questions about the intention and goals of the topic one of your team members is coming to you with. So, instead of "Do it this way and that way," ask "What is your intention?”

Of course, all this has to be practiced over a longer period of time, and above all, you have to keep reminding yourself of it. This is what I offer my Leadership Coaching for. Click here for more information and to apply.