The Four Cs Mini-series: Control

Control, how to empower without abandoning your people. This is what we'll be talking about today on how to lead the podcast For CEOs, founders, and leaders who want to find the perfect balance of empathy and authority, I'm Kate Waterfall Hill, and I'll be sharing loads of ideas from over 30 years of working in business and leadership development.

This is the third episode in my miniseries on the four Cs. The key elements my research and experience show are essential for team engagement. Before we dive in though, don't forget that I've got the Leadership Accelerator Premium. It's a 24-week program combining on-demand video lessons, weekly group coaching, live workshops, DISC personality profiling and Institute of Leadership certification, all within a supportive community of leaders like you, places a limited.

So book now for yourself or for one of your team members and find out more at www.waterfallhill.co.uk. So the four C's as a reminder are clarity, people, knowing what's expected and where they fit In. Secondly, challenge giving the right amount of stretch without putting people in their panic zone. Today we're going to be diving into control, and next week it's all about community.

So let's begin as always, with how Linda handles giving people control.

“You want me to help you with this project? 'cause it's getting a bit complicated. Well, hold on a minute. Last week you said you wanted me to leave you alone and I was micromanaging. Oh, that was something you knew how to do properly and this thing you don't know how to do properly. Right. Okay. So I've got to vary my management style according to whether or not you feel comfortable with the project, either giving you autonomy or giving you more support.

So how am I supposed to know what type of management people want at any given point? I've got to ask them. That sounds really rather time consuming. No, I think what I'm going to do is I'm going to either micromanage them when I feel like I want to control it or chuck them in at the deep end when I have no idea what I'm doing.”

Oh yes, another Linda classic. One minute she's breathing down your neck about the font size and the neck. She's disappearing for three weeks, claiming it's all part of your development, and strangely, neither works. So let's talk about what actual control looks like in leadership.

When I say control, what do I mean? Well, I don't mean you keeping control over everything. I mean, your team having the right amount of control over their work. This is about autonomy, decision making and ownership, but it's also about boundaries and support.

Too much control and people feel micromanaged. You get bottlenecks because the leader has to make every decision and the people feel disempowered if there's too little control. Without any structure, people are confused, there's inconsistency, and occasionally full on chaos.

So people need to have the right amount of control so they feel like they've got some autonomy, but they also feel supported.

Your role as a leader is to find that middle ground, give your team a framework and direction, and then trust them to use their judgment. So why is it I bang on about control so much? Why do people feel like they need it? When people feel they have no control over their work motivation, nose dives, it's well known, it's well researched.

They tend to disengaged, take fewer risks and become dependent on your sign off for every tiny decision they effectively get infantilised, treat them like children. They'll behave like them.

At the other extreme, when people are given free reign with no clarity, no check-ins and no understanding of your expectations, they just feel abandoned. Then performance becomes patchy. Accountability drops. People stop asking questions, not because they don't have any, but because they're not sure anyone's listening.

So giving your team healthy control builds confidence, makes them more accountable, which is really important in what you want. It also enables them to be more creative and innovative. It builds their resilience and ultimately it builds trust between you, and that's really, really important.

It also frees you up from being the bottleneck for every decision, which to be honest, you probably don't have time for anyway. It's probably one of your key frustrations.

So what do I see in terms of common leadership pitfalls? When it comes to control, you get different types of managers. You might get the hovering manager, you know, you ask someone to write a draft, but then you sit next to them while they do it. You rewrite everything. You end up sending it yourself and then never get a chance to build confidence and you never get to stop doing that particular task. It comes back to you each time. Then you've got the ghosting manager.

You assign a task, you don't explain the why. You don't check in. You're too busy to respond to questions, and then you're shocked when it's not what you wanted or it's not done at all. Then there's the inconsistent manager. You say, own it yourself one week, and then you override their decision the next.

Your team is constantly second guessing what they're really allowed to do. So control without consistency is completely exhausting for everyone.

You might well be asking, how do I give real control without losing the plot? Well, here's a practical framework that I use with leaders I coach.

It is a five point list. So first of all, be clear on the outcome. What exactly does success look like? What's the non-negotiable, if you like? perhaps you want to say, I need a board ready summary that highlights three key wins and one clear ask. Really specific, but you're not telling them how or exactly what should be in that.

Secondly, explain the context. Why does this thing matter? Who's it for? What's the bigger picture? So you might then say, this is going to go to the investors. We want them to see we're delivering against the strategy.

Thirdly, set the boundaries. What's flexible, what's not? What are the timeframes? Maybe there's a strict budget. Maybe there's a tone or some brand guidelines you need them to stick to. So you might say the content is up to you, but please use our brand voice final version by Friday. How does that sound? Make sure you get buy-in on that.

And then fourthly, if you can let them decide the how. I know it's not always possible when there are processes that need to be followed for consistency, but this is the bit that most leaders skip. Let them choose the process if you can. So you might say, do you want to brainstorm first or start with the draft?

Do you want to see an example of something that's been done before, which is what I'm looking for. But don't be too strict about that. And then lastly, agree on check-ins. Please don't hover, but then again, don't disappear.

So set some milestones. Let's have a 10 minute catch up on Wednesday at 10 to review where you are. This structure gives people clarity, autonomy, and support all at once. You could also ask them a question, what would support look like for you without getting in your way?

So you'll see there's a fine balance between delegation and abdication. True delegation means giving someone responsibility with support. It's not dumping a task on their desk and hoping they'll figure it out. It's not saying I'm empowering them by ghosting them for two weeks. It's definitely not jumping back in at the last minute to fix it.

So perhaps you could try this instead, ask them to play back the brief. Can you tell me how you're thinking of approaching this? What's your first, next step? Ask about potential blockers. Where do you think you might get stuck? What might the obstacles be? What are the risks? What might get in the way? Then offer support without assuming they're going to need it.

So. would it help if I looked at a draft before you sent it? This builds ownership and reduces the chance of surprises.

And as always, I'd encourage you to really build a culture around this, a culture of ownership. This grows when people feel trusted, informed, and supported. So you can help this along by including your team in planning, not just delivery. Have conversations about what's going on and what the future might look like.

Ask them for their opinions. Don't just give them the strategy or give them the plan. Encourage them to problem solve, to bring to you suggestions and to make some decisions. And then if you can try and let the other person go with that decision rather than you correcting it or changing it, you know, live with what they're bringing to you to give them some more confidence.

Then debriefing them when things go wrong. Don't punish them, but just look at what went wrong rather than who went wrong. And questions like, what led you to that choice? What would you do differently next time? What support would've helped? What did you learn?

And when things go right, please don't steal the credit. acknowledge the achievement, acknowledge the effort that was put in. Say, yeah, you really own that. Well done.

There's such a strong link between control and trust, micromanagement, as I've talked about in another episode of this podcast, is often a symptom of fear. Fear that something will go wrong or that your reputation is at risk. But real leadership is trusting someone before they fully prove themselves. It's a leap. And occasionally, yes, they might fall.

But your job isn't to make everything perfect. It's to create space for others to grow. Because if you always step in, they'll never learn and you will never scale.

What if they're not ready? Well, you know, if someone isn't taking ownership or always needs reassurance, it could be that there's a skills gap or a confidence gap. So ask yourself this. Have I given them enough information? Do they know what good looks like? Have I praised progress or only corrected errors?

Really look in the mirror and see, have you set them up for success? sometimes the idea that they're not ready is actually, I haven't supported them enough to be ready.

And I'd encourage you to do a quick self-check. Are you actually blocking control? So ask yourself, do you always say that you need to approve everything? Do you tend to rewrite other people's work? Do people hesitate to take initiative with you? If any of the answers to those questions are yes, it might be that you're holding too much control, and if you're not sure, perhaps you could ask your team.

Is there anything that you wish you had more autonomy over? You might be surprised at what they say.

So let's do a quick recap now as we're coming to the end here. Control isn't about control freakery, it's about creating space for others to think, decide, and deliver while knowing you've got their back. So to give people healthy control, you need to be clear on the outcome. Make sure you share the context.

Be really clear on setting some boundaries and helping them set boundaries too. let your team shape the how, if you've explained the why, and set out the what. Enable them to work out the how for themselves if you can and have an agreement on what level of support they need and then follow through with that.

Make sure you give them feedback and you're there to support them when they need it. Remember, control is earned, yes, but it also needs to be given. So give it early, coach often, and your team will start showing up with ownership, you can rely on.

That's all for today's episode of How to Lead. Until next time, keep leading with Clarity, care, and Curiosity. there's another episode in this miniseries of the four Cs coming next week, and that's all about community. if you've enjoyed this episode, please do follow for more leadership insights.

And if you'd like my personal support, take a look at my website, www.waterfall hill.co.uk and you'll find more information about my coaching programs there.

There's never been a better time to take your own professional development seriously, or even that of your team than right now. I'd be delighted if you could like leave a review and share with your fellow leaders about the How to Lead podcast And help spread the word. The best leaders are clear on the vision, care about their people, and approach interactions with curiosity, not judgment.

Until next time, thanks for listening.