Supervision is an old, industrial-age, baby boomer model of leadership that is DOA in the workplace today. I can say that because I AM a boomer. I can also say it because I work with Gen X, Y, and Z professionals every day who confirm what the research overwhelmingly supports—they hate being supervised, corrected, and micromanaged.
Supervision was important and effective back when managers were in charge of production plants and assembly lines. They needed to constantly scan the work environment for mistakes, things being done too slowly, sloppy outputs, or broken mechanisms. When they spotted these things, their job was to fix it quickly, typically by correcting the employee. Too many of these mistakes on an employee’s record, and he or she was demoted, reassigned, or fired.
But today, we aren’t managing a mechanical business environment; we’re trying to manage how people think, create, engage, and problem solve.
At LionSpeak, we’ve been busier than ever these days helping business teams stop the hemorrhaging of good employees and attract great ones. The research is overwhelming and conclusive that Gen X, Y, and Z do not respond to supervision. They respond to coaching and conversations that connect what we want with what they want.
With coaching, instead of scanning an environment for what is wrong, we scan the environment for untapped potential in our employees. Where do we need to help a team member get excited again about our vision and passion? Who needs the next level of skills? Who is ready for a bigger challenge and more responsibility? Who needs to feel more independent? Who has ideas to make something better or more efficient? Who needs to be appreciated or empowered in a different way?
The predictions are that the employment crisis is not going to get any better in 2025 and may even get worse. But it doesn’t have to be that way for your team. At LionSpeak, we’re coaching managers and team leaders to lead in a way that not only ensures their people are growing, engaged, and happy but that also creates a reputation which attracts the very best talent in their community. We do this by making sure that the team leaders are armed with coaching, growth, and courageous conversation skills, NOT by lowering their standards. In many cases, we actually help them raise their standards while simultaneously raising their ability to hold their people to those standards without ruining the relationship. We make sure they know how to appreciate and encourage their people in ways that matter and have a tangible impact.
Whether it’s with us or another resource, be sure as you prepare for 2025 that you include plans to equip your leaders with the ability to uplift, inspire, and grow your team in ways that excite and empower them. That’s how you’ll keep and attract the very best people in 2025 and well into the future.
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”
~ Timothy Gallwey
