II've often observed that highly paid managers simply do nothing, claiming "I'm giving the team freedom." But the team also does nothing and waits for something to happen. Have you experienced this too, and how do you distinguish between leadership through autonomy and inactivity?
Thanks for your note. I agree that autonomy is very different from inactivity. As I noted in the article, "strategic invisibility" is powerful, not passive. You’re not removing yourself: you’re making room for others to rise, while still observing in case you need to intervene. This is in contrast to the truly toxic leaders who use silence as a "weapon" as I discussed in detail in this post: https://www.thegoodboss.com/p/the-most-toxic-leaders-dont-yell
This post is very insightfull. How do you deal with unhappy customers is in this situation? Because that is one of the reasons I find it hard to not intervene sometimes.
Great question Nina! In my experience, while the initial phases can be slower when we give the team time to learn and build trust, over the course of time it pays off big time and eventually helps them deliver better value (and faster) to customers. So, a longer time mindset for the customers is key.
II've often observed that highly paid managers simply do nothing, claiming "I'm giving the team freedom." But the team also does nothing and waits for something to happen. Have you experienced this too, and how do you distinguish between leadership through autonomy and inactivity?
Thanks for your note. I agree that autonomy is very different from inactivity. As I noted in the article, "strategic invisibility" is powerful, not passive. You’re not removing yourself: you’re making room for others to rise, while still observing in case you need to intervene. This is in contrast to the truly toxic leaders who use silence as a "weapon" as I discussed in detail in this post: https://www.thegoodboss.com/p/the-most-toxic-leaders-dont-yell
That's what separates a good boss from a bad boss.
This post is very insightfull. How do you deal with unhappy customers is in this situation? Because that is one of the reasons I find it hard to not intervene sometimes.
Great question Nina! In my experience, while the initial phases can be slower when we give the team time to learn and build trust, over the course of time it pays off big time and eventually helps them deliver better value (and faster) to customers. So, a longer time mindset for the customers is key.