The Curse of Being Too "Hands Off"
I thought I was empowering my team but I was really leaving them in the dark
Someone once told me I was an impatient leader, and my first thought was: "What? I’m the opposite of that!”
I’ve always been hands-off as a manager. I give direction, trust in my people, and don’t obsess over how they get from point A to point B.
So when a team member told me I was being impatient, I couldn’t compute what this meant.
I had expected a deliverable from that person, and when they hadn’t completed it, I was completely surprised. In my mind, we’d met, discussed the goal, and agreed “circling back in a month” would be a reasonable deadline. When this came up as disappointment at a missed target, I was called impatient.
Because for them, that timeline wasn’t clear, and my silence read as an unmet expectation.
Instead of brushing the criticism off, I chose to sit with the feedback and introspect on how I lead my team and whether I’m clear with my expectations. And then, it clicked.
I was 𝘵𝘰𝘰 hands-off. I assumed there was alignment when my team needed clarity. And when that mismatch happens, people feel pressured, confused, and timid.
When you get feedback that doesn’t feel like you, don’t reject it: instead, ask why. Those answers could lead you to see the flaws you’ve been blind to.