“It is lonely at the top.”
I have seen this phrase in action my entire working career. Here are a few examples.
– I’ve witnessed as my former boss closed the door, laid her head on her desk and wept after a large retrenchment she did not want to do.
– I’ve listened as one of my clients grieved after having to implement changes that he knew would affect his staff in challenging ways.
– I’ve seen how a promotion to the C-suite created distance between decades old peer relationships.
– I’ve watched a manager eat alone at his desk in worry his presence in the staff breakroom would keep his employees from enjoying themselves.
I could share 20 more of these examples from just my personal experiences and conversation with leaders. I find that it stems from a number of things from both you as a leader and your staff.
But how do you change it?
Let me give you 5 things you can begin to implement into your own leadership style to help combat leadership isolation and strengthen your relationship with your team.
5 Ways to Combat Leadership Isolation
- Go first. As the leader, you set the tone. When you authentically take the time to show compassion, empathy, and general interest in your team, they will begin to do the same for you.
- Admit the struggles. When you have to make a hard decision that affects the staff, let them know that it affects you too. Let them know that you weighed the decision heavily, that you looked at all the options, that you didn’t make the decision on a whim and that you too hate that it had to be made.
- Own up to your mistakes. It is human to make mistakes or mess things up. It is important to let your team know that you are human. Apologize for when you’ve done something and messed things up and let them know how you are going to fix or change moving forward.
- Look for what is going right. As leaders and managers it is our job to look for areas of improvement, however, too much of this can have a leader constantly criticising rather than praising their people. Look for areas you can complement your team and cheer on the individuals in it.
- Use the Platinum Rule. The golden rule says “do unto others as you want the to do to you”. In my experience this rule is dumb. Doing something the way you would want it done, still keeps the focus on you. The Platinum rule says “Treat others the way they want to be treated.” Enneagram wisdom tells me there are 9 different ways that others want to be treated. You can read more about that in the free 5-day Diversity Email course I have on my website.
BONUS TIP: Spend time with other like-minded business owners and leaders. More than anyone else they understand what you are going through. You can support and encourage one another on the hard days. Business Gems has several excellent opportunities to do that every month from our monthly Morning Mastermind to our Monthly Workshops.
In Conclusion
Employee retention, client acquisition, and your bottom line all look better when you are taking the steps to connect well with your team. Building these connections is an investment with a high return for your business and the well-being of your most valuable assets: your team and yourself. It is worth it.
I’d love to hear back from you. Do you struggle with being lonely at the top? What are ways you work to connect with your team to battle back the isolation?
Email us at hello@businessgems.co.bw to tell us more about ways we can help support you as a leader.
