Power of Paradox - Compassionate Enforcing
What is your management style?
An effective manager is an effective coach. A manager’s coaching mindset is comprised of two pairs of traits: their ability to be enforcing and express warmth/empathy.
This is the second paradoxical trait that we will unpack: Compassionate Enforcing. To recap, Harrison Assessment paradoxes are two behavioral traits that at first seem contradictory but in fact are complimentary and synergistic. When someone can tap into both traits, this gives them a genuine strength. Harrison Assessment is a behavior-based assessment, it is not a personality test. Behavior can be changed.
If a manager is high in enforcing and low in warmth/empathy – they may come across as harsh. This can cause team members to feel unappreciated and may lead to higher turnover.
If a manager is low in enforcing and high in warmth/empathy – they have a permissive management style. This may cause the team to miss their performance targets. Under stress, a permissive manager sometimes may “flip” and become harsh instead, causing their team to question the passive/aggressive behavior they are seeing and wonder when it might happen again.
When a manager can come across as caring and yet hold their team accountable at the same time, this is a true strength. These managers usually are easily identified by their healthy teams. They have satisfied team members who are able to meet their goals.
So, what are some things we can do if our management style leans more towards being enforcing or permissive?
1. Acknowledge and accept where we are at – change first starts with awareness.
· If we are not aware of how our behavior is impacting ourselves and others, it is not possible to change
2. Realize the importance of developing the complementary trait
3. Share your management style with your team members!
· Let’s say you have a new team member joining and you tend to be permissive, you could say something like the following: “I give my team a lot of freedom, I don’t tend to micro-manage but if I feel like someone is abusing the freedom that I give them, you will feel me pull back and I may become more enforcing. What I’m working on is being more upfront with my expectations for each team member. If at any time you feel like the goals and deadlines, I’m providing are not clear enough or that you are not able to meet them, please let me know so we can work on a solution together.”
· Here is another example if you have an existing team. Perhaps you realize you have not been very warm or empathetic and want to change that. You could say something like this: “I just learned about a new concept called paradoxical traits and want to work on changing my management style. I realize that in the past I have not come across as very warm or empathetic. I do care about the team, but my actions may have not shown this and at times I may have come across as being harsh. In the future, if you feel that I am being too harsh on you or the team, please let me know. I would appreciate your feedback as I want the team to not only meet our goals but also realize I have your back.”
· As a manager, your team members may not feel comfortable asking you to change how you interact with them. When you not only give them permission but also ask them to do this, it changes the dynamic and creates a better working environment that benefits everyone.
Bonus Insight: I have found that my management or coaching style translates to my parenting style. So, gaining insight into this paradox has helped me both professionally and personally.
Contact Claritas Consulting & Coaching for a complimentary consultation if you or your team could benefit from developing a compassionate enforcing coaching mindset.
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