Trust me. Business travel isn\u2019t always glamourous.<\/p>\n
Two domestic flights; two international flights; one 6:00am departure; two 4-hour layovers; three different time zones \u2026 and that\u2019s just been the last 5 days.<\/p>\n
Now whilst I mastered the art of being able to work productively in any airport lounge or at any departure gate a long time ago, I have to admit that there are also times when sometimes I just like to sit back and people watch.<\/p>\n
This week I\u2019ve traveled through two of the world\u2019s busiest airports \u2013 Tokyo and Los Angeles so I\u2019ve experienced \u2018people watching on steroids\u2019.<\/p>\n
And one thing became very clear. There are far too many highly anxious (not to mention overly controlling) managers or business owners (traveling) out there in the big wide world.<\/p>\n
How can I\u00a0possibly make this claim?<\/p>\n
I can honestly say that this week I would have heard literally hundreds<\/em> of people on calls waiting at airport check-in counters; in immigration queues (even when the signs clearly prohibit the use of mobile phones); in security lines; in airport lounges (or food courts); at departure gates; and of course on the planes right up until the moment the front door is closed and then from the moment the wheels of the plane hit the runway \u2026<\/p>\n Gosh there was even one guy having a full on rant while running a team conference call from inside a toilet cubicle at LAX!<\/p>\n If they weren\u2019t raising their voices on the actual calls, then they were huffing and puffing and letting their frustrations or anxiety out on the people around them (many of whom they didn\u2019t even know!).<\/p>\n Probably not the best trait for any business leader to be displaying in public.<\/p>\n So I thought I\u2019d share a few observations (based on some of the conversations I’ve overheard in the last few days) for anyone wanting to join the ranks of these highly-strung and anxious traveling managers.<\/p>\n Even if it means you dial in and pull rank from an airport toilet cubicle!<\/p>\n Have you ever thought about delegating the responsibility of chairing or facilitating a meeting to other members of the team in your absence?<\/p>\n As a manager, you don’t have to sit at the head of the table for every single meeting. Believe it or not some meetings have even been known to run successfully when the leader isn\u2019t<\/em> present.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re away on business, why shouldn\u2019t a regular team meeting still take place? Give other team members the opportunity to put an agenda together, to chair the meeting, and to report back to you on any matters that might require escalation.<\/p>\n You might even want to put a chairperson roster together when you are<\/em> in the office, so that if you\u2019re traveling there\u2019s no question that meetings can still go ahead (without you).<\/p>\n Abusing your team on a conference call from an airport toilet across the country will really do wonders for your credibility.<\/p>\n Maybe his team thought he was visiting a client at Niagara Falls with all those flushing noises going on in the background!<\/p>\n Another way to guarantee \u2018control-freak\u2019 status.<\/p>\n Simply rattling off a list of clients lost, projects not completed, or targets not achieved will ensure that your team think you never see the good in anything.<\/p>\n Even if you are traveling or for whatever reason pressed for time, make sure you devote time to recognise the efforts and achievements in your team.<\/p>\n Rest assured your team all know how important targets and budgets are. But sometimes they won\u2019t be met so you should look for other individual or team accomplishments that you can talk about.<\/p>\n Remember you have a responsibility as a leader to make your team members feel respected, trusted and valued.<\/p>\n Better yet \u2013 be a clock-watcher and question your team\u2019s every move.<\/p>\n Look over everyone\u2019s shoulder to find out what they\u2019re up to rather than trusting them to bring you up to speed when you do catch up with them individually. And while you\u2019re at it, delete the word \u2018empower\u2019 from your lexicon.<\/p>\n If you want a demotivated team, or a team who tense up every time you walk into the office, then micromanaging is the way to go.<\/p>\n And if you don\u2019t give your team members some freedom and autonomy (even if it means they stuff up from time to time), then you are really nothing more than that one mean babysitter we all had once or twice when Mum and Dad went out.<\/p>\n There was one guy standing behind me in the immigration line who literally rattled off a list of tasks to some poor soul on the other end of the phone for about 10 minutes.<\/p>\n He hardly drew a breath.<\/p>\n There was no context behind any of his instructions; no reasons why<\/em>. It was just rapid-fire delegation.<\/p>\n This guy probably thought delegating tasks would make the person he was speaking to feel empowered.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a hint: Not if you just dictate a to-do list.<\/p>\n For a team member to feel empowered (and trusted), they don\u2019t just need to know what<\/em> to do; they want (and need) to know why<\/em> they\u2019re doing it \u2026 and where their task fits into the bigger picture.<\/p>\n Then<\/em> they might feel a sense of personal accomplishment.<\/p>\n Oh that\u2019s right. But you don\u2019t want them to feel accomplished, since that might mean you\u2019re losing control.<\/p>\n And for bonus points, when you are in the office, keep your door closed!<\/p>\n Sorry to keep coming back to the LAX toilet cubicle guy. But I actually heard him say \u201cIs this just yet another case of \u2018when the cat\u2019s away \u2026?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Who was he kidding here?<\/p>\n Sure a paranoid manager might believe that \u2018the mice\u2019 will play in his or her absence. But from personal experience I can tell you that when I used to travel a lot, I know there were times when my team was even more productive when I was out of the office.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not that they weren\u2019t effective when I was around, but they were all mature and very good at what they did, and just got into a different groove. They may have taken a few slightly longer lunch breaks, or maybe even left a bit earlier than normal some days (shock horror \u2026 lock all the doors!) but nothing ever slipped through cracks.<\/p>\n You might even want to try not<\/em> calling the office every day when you\u2019re away on business!<\/p>\n Your blood pressure is probably rising just thinking about that crazy idea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every manager wants to be a control freak, right? Nobody wants to believe in empowerment, autonomy, or recognizing achievements. It\u2019s all about micromanagement and having a demotivated team who live in fear. Sadly this is true of far too many managers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8839,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[147],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n1.\u00a0Assume control of every team meeting<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2.\u00a0Never praise … Just criticize<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3.\u00a0Let your inner micromanager shine<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4.\u00a0Never explain \u2018why<\/em>\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
5.\u00a0Never leave the office<\/strong><\/h2>\n