Don't irritate your staff with helicopter management

In my many years of consulting with organizations, one of the prevalent complaints of staff is the helicopter management of senior leaders. First, staff are responsible for something and work hard to figure it out. Then, a senior leader "helicopters" in to adjust or redo the plan.

I often ask staff how this management style makes them feel when they describe this to me. Their answer is almost always the same: They think that they are not trusted, their work devalued, and the energy they put into the work they had completed. It is one of the most disrespectful things a leader can do to their staff, who feel marginalized and unappreciated. Of course, this does not mean the leader meant to send those messages, but their actions do just that. Every time leaders do this, they lose major coinage with their staff. 

What are the reasons that this happens? 

• Often there needed to be more adequate conversation and dialogue before the project was assigned, leaving staff unaware of the leader's true intentions.
• Many leaders simply think they know best and believe it is their responsibility to make the calls.
• Often, leaders are moving way too fast to pay proper attention to what is happening leaving them with little time for dialogue, so they helicopter down, make their pronouncements, and then helicopter off again. Their touchdowns can leave chaos in their wake, and they are unaware of how their actions impact their staff.
• Many leaders think that things should be done one way: Their way. So when a different way is tried, they feel that they need to intervene. 

What is the answer? It is to understand what altitude one should be flying at and staying at that altitude, allowing others to fly at their altitude and do their work. There can always be discussion and dialogue, but those at lower altitudes often know much better the issues they are dealing with. I discuss this issue of altitude in my book Leading From The Sandbox. Understanding the proper altitude leaders should be flying is one of the critical components of healthy leadership.

Remember that every leader's actions have ripple effects on their staff. The more senior the leader, the more ripples there are. At times one must pivot quickly, and that is appreciated by staff. However, when senior leaders regularly dip down to 5,000 feet when they ought to be flying at 30,000 feet, they need to appreciate the impact on staff. Find your altitude, take the time to dialogue with staff, so you know where they are and what they are doing, and honor them as colleagues by not changing their plans on a whim.

Living beyond Politics

The political season is a test for every believer. In fact, it reveals a great deal about our character, our faith, and our belief system. 

Let's start with our character. The vitriol of the election season is harsh, strong, and unkind. Yet, even in the church, between believers, all too often, the tone and tenor of political conversations are no different than on Fox News or CNN. People often say, “Politics is a messy business.” They are right. But we do not need to vilify others or respond in anger. Even in politics, the fruit of the Spirit applies Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control.

We fail the character test if we cannot discuss issues that divide us with these qualities. It is easy to have the fruit of the Spirit in easy conversations. However, displaying that fruit in challenging discussions is far more critical. Remember, the Holy Spirit is either saddened or gladdened by our attitude in this season.

Then there is the issue of our belief system. Here is the question. Do we believe that our political party or any political party can save us as a nation? If anything can be learned from the Old Testament and God’s interactions with nations, He raises nations and leaders and brings them down when their sin or avoidance of Him becomes too great. A righteous and just government matters greatly, but our political parties cannot save us. I long ago concluded that it matters more who is in my house than who is in the White House. 

But the issue of our faith is the most critical question. There is an Old Testament promise that is often quoted but rarely followed. It is God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

If we genuinely believed that promise, we would spend far more time praying for our nation, living in personal righteousness, turning away from sin, and seeking His face in all our practices. And in doing so, we would be confident that God will hear from heaven and that their land would be healed. Why healed? Because every nation has practices and a past that they need healing from. Racism and a history of slavery are wounds from which our country desperately needs healing. Unfortunately, recent days have told us that the wounds are real and raw and that without healing, there will not be reconciliation, justice, or righteousness. 

We don’t believe that all people are made in the image of God. Many decry the scourge of abortion in this country. But what do you suppose God thinks about racism, exclusion, and injustice? Yet the church is largely silent on these issues and has married itself to a political party as if people cannot vote for either party and be disciples of Jesus. God is asking us to care about the things He cares about, and He wants us to humble ourselves (yes, as Christian people), truly seek his face, and turn from our sinful ways, and He will heal our land. 

This election will not solve our nation's problems. A new Supreme Court justice will not solve them either. Only God can, and it will only be when His people choose to live beyond politics and follow Him and seek what He desires that this nation, or any nation, will be blessed. Healing does not start in the White House. It begins in our house.