The Modern Leadership Issue - 22

Our client, Alex,
was admired as an individual contributor
for exceptional results; they took pride in
never dropping the ball. This drive to
succeed, coupled with the fear of making
mistakes, reinforced Alex's belief that
meeting goals and delivering exceptional
results depended upon their ability to
maintain vigilance and control. Alex
feared that if they didn't personally do the
work, it would be subpar. As a high
performer, Alex was continually rewarded,
validated, and recognized for their
exceptional work and ultimately was
promoted from individual contributor to
people manager.
THE REALIZATION THAT What got us here won't get us there
by Carol Henriques and Esther Adams
As a leader, Alex continued to maintain
control and oversee every aspect of the
work. Others resorted to backchannel
communication, complaining about Alex
and attempting to figure out what Alex
truly wanted from them. With every ball
dropped-a missed deadline, a
presentation not hitting the mark-Alex's
internal narrative of " I can't trust my team
to do good work, so I must do more " grew
stronger. This in turn reinforced the
team's narrative of " Alex doesn't trust us
to do great work so why even try. "
CAROL HENRIQUES
Carol Henriques is a Principal and Client Partner
at TiER1 Performance who is passionate about helping
clients find innovative solutions to organizational
challenges. Carol has a knack for developing practical,
systems-focused solutions that are rooted in deep
understanding of the unique characteristics of
each client's situation. Carol is committed to always
growing, developing, and staying true to her values.
Esther Adams
Esther Adams is a Senior Learning Consultant at
TiER1 Performance who leads the Employee Experience
Capability. She has a passion for acknowledging and
honoring people's humanity at work and for developing
people-centered solutions that lead to lasting change.
Alex was in a problem-reacting cycle.
Problem-reacting happens when a
leader's underlying assumptions or
beliefs (such as " relying on others is
not safe, I can only trust myself " ) drives
them to display behaviors that temporarily
relieve anxiety or fears, yet ultimately
impede long-term goals and aspirations.
Often, leaders with this patterning tend
to work long hours, not develop strong
trusting relationships with their team
members, and end up burning out.
With support, Alex uncovered that their
https://tier1performance.com/author/e-adams/ https://tier1performance.com/author/c-henriques/
The Modern Leadership Issue

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