INSIGHTS (on leadership/self-leadership)
Are you experiencing “quiet firing?”
No, it’s not the same thing as “quiet quitting,” which we touched on last week. It’s when managers create an environment where employees want to quit. In fact, the manager wants the employee to quit, they just don’t want to go through the complications and hassles involved in actually firing them.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. A LinkedIn poll showed a stunning 83% of people feel they’ve experienced it. It takes many forms, including when you don’t receive a raise for years despite good performance. You don’t get included in key meetings or projects, or you’re left out of the loop on key information. Your boss becomes harder and harder just to pin down for a 1 on 1 meeting. You rarely get praise but often get a disinterested reception in “hallway talk.” You get micromanaged and under resourced.
And these are just some of the signs. Join the conversation by commenting on this post below, and let me know if you’ve experienced this phenomenon and what form it took.
Then, please commit to never create this environment for any of your employees.
IMPERFECTIONS (a mistake many make)
Having trouble in your relationship with your boss? Of course, you’re not alone, if so.
Too often though, I see people failing to understand and embrace the key to getting along with the boss. It’s the fundamental nature of an effective boss-subordinate relationship. That is:
It’s interdependence between two imperfect human beings.
I know, but your boss is a jerk. Or an idiot. Or doesn’t care about anyone but his/herself. Or… And their glaring flaws are exacerbated by tensions inherent in the boss-subordinate hierarchy. For example, the boss plays conflicting roles, as supporter and assessor. How much do you reveal of what you need when, at the same time, your boss is evaluating and judging your abilities?
So, I get it – the tension is real. But what I’m saying is that many struggle with their boss because they gloss over the importance of interdependence and fallibility. You need your boss, they need you. And you’re both imperfect human beings.
Period.
Keep this perspective in mind before you go out of your mind.
IMPLEMENTATION (one research-backed strategy, tip, or tool)
Here’s a powerful tool you can implement at any time, to have an outsized impact.
Kindness.
Why do I share something so obvious? Because recent research shows we consistently underestimate just how positive an impact our small acts of kindness have on others. Here’s how the lead researcher put it:
“Performing random acts of kindness increases happiness in both givers and receivers, but we find that givers systematically undervalue their positive impact on recipients. In both field and laboratory settings, those performing an act of kindness reported how positive they expected recipients would feel and recipients reported how they actually felt. From giving away a cup of hot chocolate in a park to giving away a gift in the lab, those performing a random act of kindness consistently underestimated how positive their recipients would feel, thinking their act was of less value than recipients perceived it to be.”
Bottom line – never underestimate the huge impact of a small gesture of kindness.
Leave a Reply