Learn to Give Leaders a Sense of Security

01. The Phenomenon of Leaders Lacking Security

Maybe you'll feel quite unhappy when you see this title. Why should I give my leader a sense of security? But I'd like to say that this workplace principle is actually for our own good.

Have you ever had such experiences? Your leader keeps a close eye on you while you're working and asks you about the work progress from time to time, which makes you very nervous. The leader pays too much attention to the details of your work, and this all-round inspection makes you feel extremely stressed. When facing a long-term project, the leader gets as anxious as if a disaster is about to happen, making everyone else anxious too, and you don't even dare to leave work when it's time to. All these are manifestations of the leader's lack of a sense of security.

02. The Impact on Us

What impact will it have on us if the leader lacks a sense of security? Edward L. Deci, a psychologist and the author of "Intrinsic Motivation", said that external means can greatly undermine a person's intrinsic motivation, making the purpose of people's actions no longer out of their true intentions but to obtain rewards or avoid threats.

If your leader lacks a sense of security, then when you're working, you'll be surrounded by external threats, and you'll easily get nervous. And when people are nervous, they will lack creativity and are prone to making mistakes. Because all your energy is consumed in dealing with the leader's emotions. Therefore, we should learn to give our leader a sense of security so that we can have enough freedom at work. And this freedom can inspire our initiative and creativity, making work not only a way for us to make money but also a way for us to realize our self-worth.

03. How to Give the Leader a Sense of Security

3.1 Clarify the Goals and Standards of the Task

Sometimes, the leader gets anxious because he's not sure whether you can complete the task with both good quality and quantity when it's assigned to you. After all, if you need to redo the work, it will be postponed. Of course, this may not be a problem with your ability. It's also possible that both sides haven't clarified the goals and standards of the task.

So, when accepting a task, make sure that you fully understand the leader's requirements. Don't be afraid to ask questions if there's anything you don't understand. If the leader asks you, "Do you understand?", although it's a yes-or-no question, you can answer it in the form of an open-ended question by repeating your understanding and then asking the leader, "Do you think my understanding is correct?"

3.2 Take the Initiative to Report the Progress

If the leader doesn't know the progress, he will come to ask you. So you should take the initiative to report the progress to him. It's best to fix the reporting time, such as every Monday and Friday, and it's better to report in written form. In this way, even if he forgets, he can look through the records instead of asking you. Every time you send a progress report, his sense of security will increase by one. Gradually, his psychological expectations of you will change. One leader once said, "I'm most relieved when I assign tasks to Nanzi." I didn't do anything extra. I just took the initiative to report the progress. And I did this to create more autonomous space for myself so that I wouldn't have to explain to the leader frequently.

Besides regularly reporting the progress, we can also use the "project management table" to give the leader a sense of security. I used to have a leader who had just been transferred from another place and was eager to achieve quick results, which made everyone very anxious. I did one thing – I made a project management table, clarifying items, time nodes, persons in charge and so on. I also listed the lacking resources and the things that hadn't been figured out as a checklist. In this way, the uncertain future became certain in the document. When the leader asks you how a certain link is going, you can open the table or the checklist and show it to him, telling him which stage the link has reached and what resources the other link is still lacking, and asking the leader if he can strive for them from the senior management. When the leader knows the progress and also knows what can be done next, he won't be so anxious.

3.3 Think about the Leader's Underlying Needs

The above two points are about things at the execution level. This point is about a deeper understanding. This includes the understanding of a certain task and the understanding of the leader's personal needs.

If the leader arranges for me to do a task that I've never done before, I'll think about why he wants to do this task and why he chooses me to do it. I'll think about all the issues he needs behind it and then connect all the information and resources that he may need to him. As for the understanding of the leader's personal needs, it's about looking at the leader's values and priorities. Is he the type who is aggressive and hopes to win battles and achieve results as soon as possible, or is he the steady and conservative type? Is his life priority career first, or is it a balance between career and family?

In addition, we also need to consider the situation of the company. Is the company you're in relatively relaxed, where everyone tacitly agrees not to send work messages after work, or is it rather competitive, where people will still send files in the group even in the early hours of the morning? If we want to survive in the workplace, we need to flexibly adapt to different leadership styles and corporate cultures. For example, I used to have a leader who was a workaholic. She would send me a message asking for a piece of information even at 1 o'clock in the morning. Then I would reply to her immediately when I saw the message in the morning so that she could see the reply when she woke up and feel secure. I also met a relatively laid-back leader. In his life priorities, career was relatively low on the list. Then, in order to achieve my own workplace goals, I would take the initiative to keep an eye on the progress. When his involvement was needed, I would urge him to make decisions and ask for resources and so on.

04. Giving Yourself a Sense of Security

Of course, when it comes to workplace security, the most important thing is to give yourself a sense of security. If you've figured out everything by yourself first, knowing what to do next and why to do it, you won't panic no matter how the leader asks you.

You can try two things to give yourself a sense of security. First, arrive at the company 5 to 30 minutes early every day. Even if you're just 5 minutes early, you may be the first one to arrive at the office, and it's a great feeling. You'll feel that you're in control of your work. During the early time, you can use it to sort out the work of the day and prioritize the work of the day. If there are things that you need to communicate with colleagues during the day and the time hasn't been fixed in advance, you should confirm with them at this time and fill it into the schedule. Second, write down your work insights every day. I write insights every working day. What specific content should I write? For example, if I've achieved success or made mistakes in a certain work, I'll analyze the reasons at this time. Another example is that if I didn't communicate smoothly with a certain colleague, I'll think about what went wrong and how to communicate to achieve the goal. Sometimes, a lot of negative emotions will accumulate at work, and I'll also vent them out at this time. When they are written down, I'll see them myself, and my emotions will return to calm, and I can also have a good sleep at night.

In conclusion, understanding how to give both the leader and ourselves a sense of security is crucial for a successful and fulfilling workplace experience.