Are You An Invisible Leader?

I know you have a lot on your plate - meetings, emails, more meetings, conference calls, and more emails.  I know there are days you don't even have time to run to the restroom between meetings.  Organizations demand a great deal from us. 

 As a leader however, your first responsibility is to lead your team.  That might be difficult to do if you're never there to see the team.  You run the risk of becoming an Invisible Leader.  

 

Employee's View of Invisible Leader

From the employee's perspective, invisible leaders can be a very good thing.  

1.  I don't have to worry about the boss showing up so I can pretty much do as I want.

2.  Why should I care about my job when my boss is too busy to care about me, my development, or my needs?

3.  I can maintain status quo.  As long as I don't do something grossly inadequate, my boss has no idea what I'm doing.  

Invisible leaders like to refer to themselves as "hands off" leaders too.  My question to these people is "how can you possible lead if you aren't around to know what the issues are, what barriers people have, what development people need, and are not available to provide feedback regarding performance.  

I can hear the barriers now - "But my boss requires me to be in these meetings," "I have all these conference calls I have to attend," "I get 500 emails a day."  I don't doubt every single one of these statements and that's where a little time management and crucial conversations come in.  The reality is it may become necessary for you to prioritize your activities a little better, delegate some of the meetings, relinquish control a bit, and that might even require the help of your boss.  It might be necessary to have a conversation and say "Look, this is what is on my plate right now. I feel like my highest priority is to lead my team and I'm not available to do this.  I need your guidance in helping me to prioritize."  You may be surprised to learn that your leader had no idea how full your plate had become.  

Don't get me wrong here - I'm not talking about one busy day a week.  I'm referring to the perpetually busy leader that is never around to lead.  And I'm not saying a leader needs to hover over their employees every minute of every day.  That's not leadership, it's micromanaging.  They do need to be available though.  And Approachable.  And most importantly you need to be visible (either by phone, Skype, or in person).  

Mari