By Brian de Haaff *
The corporate spies are out there.
Monitoring emails; tracking phone calls; even peeking into your computer.
What is this covert operation? It is the organisation you work for.
I once even had an employer start backing up my computer automatically without telling me.
Why were they afraid? There was no reason to be. I already backed my computer up regularly (per the company policy).
I am definitely not a conspiracy theorist, so here is the evidence.
One survey found that at least 66 per cent of United States companies monitored their employees’ internet use — 45 per cent log keystrokes and 43 per cent track employee emails.
I suspect it’s not much different in other Western organisations.
As a leader, you need to understand how the team is doing — but this should not require covert operations.
Having clear goals and helping people reach them is what matters, not every detail of how they got there.
Great leaders know this, and so they do not lurk. They do not puppeteer.
Instead, they start by presenting a clear purpose and stay in the forefront — accessible and openly invested in the team’s success.
Of course, this presents a challenge.
If you are in a leadership position, you are not likely active in all of the team’s day-to-day tasks anymore.
Your priority is steering the broader focus and eliminating any drama so people can be their best.
It can be easy to lose track of how the team is actually doing and feeling about the work.
However, if you want to lead the team to success, you need to make the effort to stay close.
Here is how leaders stay close to the team without smothering them, no matter how busy they are.
On-board new hires:
Get involved. This could be as simple as scheduling a welcome meeting or personally introducing them to the team on day one.
I hold a kick-off presentation with new employees at Aha! during their first week.
It is a great chance to share our company’s values, while also getting to know more about the new teammate.
Share plans widely:
You need exceptional clarity in terms of what you want your team to achieve.
Once you have the plan in place, share the goals and initiatives openly with your team.
It is your job to ensure that the plan is communicated widely.
This way, everyone understands what they are working towards — before they get started on the actual work.
Drive self-accountability:
This step should be easy if you have shared a clear plan, given people the chance to provide feedback, and have made changes based on that feedback.
Now the team is responsible for executing the plan.
Your job is to give them the space to do it.
Everyone at Aha! documents “progress, plans and problems” each week — sharing with leaders to show how work is progressing and what they might need help with.
It keeps teammates accountable for their work while also providing total transparency across the organisation.
Be available:
You likely do not have time to meet one-on-one with everyone on the team, but an oversubscribed schedule should not equal zero accessibility.
Make it easy for each person to reach out to you with questions or concerns whenever they have them.
Maybe you have regular office hours or you encourage people to email you with ideas.
Leaders stay accessible at Aha! by encouraging direct communication regardless of the reporting structure.
We regularly hold “ask us anything” sessions on the weekly all-company meeting.
Act on feedback:
If you have been listening hard to your team — you must take action.
Listening with no action is a waste of your and everyone else’s time, plus, it breeds frustration.
Do your best to act on any items that are aligned with the organisation’s values and goals.
For example, if you regularly hear frustrations about a lack of learning opportunities, consider increasing the opportunities for learning by funding outside training programs.
You are not meant to be the team’s spy — you are meant to be the team’s champion.
So, take meaningful steps to understand the team and what it needs.
Spying might give you a glimpse into this, but it is a very small glimpse.
The best way to see the big picture is to be out front and in the open.
*Brian de Haaff is the Chief Executive of cloud-based software company Aha! He can be contacted on Twitter @bdehaaff.
This article first appeared on the Aha! company website.
