Five common management assumptions re-evaluated for modern leadership

In today’s fast-paced business environment, it’s crucial to continually reassess the principles guiding our management practices.

In this month’s Leadership Matters, Alison Craig, founder of Alison Craig Coaching, delves into the critical assumptions that have silently shaped leadership and team dynamics.

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Here are five management assumptions we’ve noticed over the last 10 years of helping leaders and their teams perform at their best:

• Assumption 1: that management expectations and aims are crystal clear – rarely true

Managers often spend a great deal of time pushing out energy and info to describe what they want their team or individuals to achieve.

Not enough time is spent pulling, i.e. asking questions, and inviting queries or observations, which would help check everyone has the same picture of success.

Unsurprisingly this lack of clarity leads to missed targets, potential underperformance, and frustration all round.

• Assumption 2: that disengaged employees won’t want to contribute to improvements – rarely true

When invited (without judgement) to contribute, I have rarely seen individuals pass up the opportunity.

They are often crying out for things to improve – not many people want to come to work to do a bad job.

Watch out though – if you are ready to criticise rather than be curious about their suggestions, they will soon clam up.

Use your coaching skills to help them risk assess their ideas.  Don’t let it get to the stage where you find it hard not to feel negatively about their contribution.

• Assumption 3: that leaders are born rather than bred – untrue

Some people have personal traits that help them gravitate towards a leadership role and enjoy it.

However, if a person is open to learning, management and leadership skills can definitely be developed through training and on the job experience.

Coaching and mentoring can also greatly increase leadership confidence and capability.

• Assumption 4: that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks – untrue

Managers routinely assume that long serving employees, particularly those nearing retirement, are unable to change.

In reality, some may be unwilling rather than unable.

Then it’s time for you to look in the mirror and consider how willing you are to adapt as a leader, so that you can encourage motivate and manage, if the change required is beneficial to the business and team.

• Assumption 5: when it comes down to it, managers can do it better and faster…

It is very dangerous if this is true!

It’s a significant risk to the organisation if you are genuinely the only person that can achieve that standard and pace.

What do you need to do to develop your team to achieve the same?

If untrue, how frustrated your team must be, to not be able to input their ideas and have autonomy around how they deliver on expectations.

If you regularly jump in, what makes you do that: a) habit, b) wanting to be indispensable, c) lack of skill or will in your team members?

Think about where your time could be better spent if you were to motivate and develop your team to do it as well (perhaps better!) than you and at the same speed.

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For more leadership tips, read through our past Leadership Matters articles on Hampshire Biz News. And as always, if you would like to bounce any ideas or undertake any coaching, mentoring, or training with our team of leadership and employee engagement experts, please get in touch.

• alisoncraigcoaching.co.uk

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