Are Your Leadership Habits Driving Away Your Best People?

Losing great people is a painful, demoralising, and expensive problem. The frustrating truth is that a lot of what drives employee turnover isn’t a lack of business knowledge; it’s a lack of emotional intelligence. It’s those emotional blind spots we all have that lead to flawed decisions.

The good news? The solution isn’t about being perfect. It’s about becoming more aware of what’s really driving your behaviour.

Find Your Flawed Archetype

We all have a natural tendency to lean into a certain decision-making habit. Here are four of these “flawed archetypes” that silently sabotage a leader’s ability to build a great team:

• The Friend who confuses being liked with the responsibility to lead.
• The Battle Axe who lets a focus on tasks override empathy for people.
• The Micromanager who uses control to compensate for a deeper fear of failure.
• The Absentee who fails to see the impact of their disengagement.

Think about the leaders you’ve had. We’ve all got a story about the leader who was a cold, hard-nosed Battle Axe, running roughshod over others without a care in the world. Or perhaps your story is about the opposite: the leader who just wanted to be your Friend, with clear favourites and an aversion to making the hard calls.

These extremes come from a flawed belief that you must choose between being a firm guide and a compassionate human. But the real challenge is finding the right balance.

The Dangers of Being Too Tight or Too Loose

In a similar vein, many leaders struggle with finding the right balance of control. You may have worked with a Micromanager who needed to be in every email and dictate every detail, or an Absentee leader who was physically or emotionally distant, providing little guidance.

Both of these are flawed decisions. The Micromanager confuses control with competence, and the Absentee mistakes a hands-off approach for empowerment. The truth is, the most effective leaders know when to be hands-on and when to step back.

It’s not about choosing a single style; it’s about being a responsive leader who understands the needs of the moment.

When to Use Tight Control

Tight control is a necessary style in situations that are either complex, critical, or involve new or inexperienced team members. Making the decision to be more hands-on is smart when:

• During a crisis: In a crisis, people need clear, direct instructions to ensure a swift and safe response. A leader who isn’t providing clear direction is failing their team.
• With new team members: When someone is just starting out, they need a clear framework and close guidance to succeed. A leader who lets them sink or swim is setting them up for failure and eroding their confidence.
• For high-risk tasks: Some tasks, like following a safety protocol, leave no room for error. A leader must be firm on the procedures to protect the team and the business.

Your people want a leader who knows when to guide them and when to trust them.

When to Apply Loose Control

Loose control isn’t a sign of apathy; it’s a sign of a leader who has built a culture of trust and empowerment. It is an essential style for encouraging growth and innovation. This approach is best applied:

• With experienced team members: A veteran employee needs the autonomy to use their skills and expertise to deliver results. A leader’s role here is to provide a clear vision and then get out of the way.
• For creative and innovative tasks: Micromanagement is the death of creativity. When you want your team to brainstorm a new product or find a novel solution, you have to give them the freedom to experiment and even fail.
• To foster ownership: When a team is given ownership, they take pride in their work and are more likely to go the extra mile. A hands-off approach signals that you trust the team to do the job right.

Ready for Your First Action Step?

This isn’t a personality test; it’s a diagnostic tool. And the good news is, these are habits, not innate traits. Habits can be changed. The key to making better decisions is to first understand your natural tendencies.

Take my free quiz to find out your leadership archetype and get your first action step to make smarter choices that benefit both your team and your business.