Leaders are good people.

They care about their teams, about their team members’ families, they care about keeping people happy, motivated, engaged, fulfilled, inspired.

This is a wonderful quality in any person, let alone a leader.

BUT, it can sometimes translate into not-so-useful leadership decisions.

Let me give you an example that Kristy-Lee shared with me. A few years ago, she could tell one of her team members was a little off, so she took her out for a coffee chat, half expecting to be asked for a pay rise.

It wasn’t a pay rise at all that the team member wanted. She missed the social interaction and wanted Friday drinks back on the cards. Relieved, Kristy-Lee replied with an easy: of course we can have Friday drinks. No problem.

Only… it was a problem. Kristy-Lee had two young kids at the time, and young kids love nothing more than to throw food on the floor and at their parents on Fridays evenings. They want and need their parents at home, not out socialising with colleagues every Friday (the little tyrants).

It might have been the right decision for that particular staff member, but it wasn’t for Kristy-Lee and, as it turned out, nor was it for other team members with young families.

Leaders have many responsibilities that impact other people:

• Providing growth opportunities
• Fostering an environment where people can thrive
• Creating workplaces that are safe physically and psychologically.

Keeping everyone happy all the time is NOT one of those responsibilities.

In fact, when we do that, we do more bad than good.

• It puts a massive emotional weight on you.
• It lets people off the hook – their happiness is their personal responsibility.
• It could well hurt the business or other team members.

We talk about all this and more on the podcast, including what Kristy-Lee could have done instead of saying yes to Friday evening drinks.

Listen to the episode – It’s not your responsibility – HERE.

I’m biased, but I think this episode is jam-packed with golden nuggets and will have you nodding vigorously. If you think so too, we’d love nothing more than to hear about it. Tag us on your socials or leave us a review on our podcast facebook page or on your podcast provider.