Your team may need outside support when the same problems keep returning, hard conversations keep getting postponed, and you have become the answer to every question. Here are five signs to watch for, and what each one usually means.
First, a kind reminder. Noticing these signs does not mean you are failing as a leader. It means you are paying attention.
1. Your team comes to you for almost every decision
What it usually means: People are not sure what they are allowed to decide, so asking you feels safest.
One small step: Pick one type of decision this week and tell one person, clearly, that it is theirs.
2. There is a conversation you keep putting off
What it usually means: You care about the person, and you are not sure how to say it well.
One small step: Write down the one sentence you most need them to hear. Start there.
3. Small issues keep turning into bigger disruptions
What it usually means: Something underneath is unresolved, and it keeps finding new ways to surface.
One small step: Ask yourself what the last three issues had in common.
4. Your meetings feel like updates
What it usually means: People are reporting, and nobody feels invited to think out loud.
One small step: Open your next meeting with one real question and wait for answers.
5. You are growing, and roles are less clear than they used to be
What it usually means: The business changed and the roles did not get rewritten.
One small step: Ask each person to describe their role in two sentences. Compare them with what you expected.
How many signs is too many?
One or two is normal for any team. Three or more usually means the business has outgrown the way you have been communicating. That is fixable, and you do not have to fix it alone.
If you would like a quick read on your own team, there is a two minute check-in on my homepage.
When does your team need outside support?
When you have tried to solve it yourself and it keeps coming back. An outside person can hear things your team will not say to you, and can say things to you that your team cannot.
That is the work I do. I sit down with you as the CEO and with each person on your team, so everyone is leading in the same direction.
Ready for support?
Read about leadership coaching for founders and their teams, or book a free 15 minute call.