Stop This Management Mistake

David Burkus · Intermediate ·📄 Research Papers Explained ·1mo ago

Key Takeaways

David Burkus discusses a common management mistake and how to avoid it

Full Transcript

Sign number three, criticism has suddenly spiked. There's a phenomenon among managers and employees called the set up to fail syndrome. The employee makes a mistake, maybe it's a one-off, maybe it's a pattern, and so the manager decides "I need to manage this person a bit more closely. I need to be more clear about expectations. I need to give more constructive criticism." And that triggers nervousness, defensiveness, and leaves the employee more prone to making even more mistakes, which of course just confirms the manager's suspicion that this is a problem employee who needs to be managed more closely. And again, and again, it goes.

Original Description

Increased criticism and closer oversight don't fix struggling employees — they often make things worse. The setup to fail syndrome explains why: the more closely you manage someone, the more nervous and defensive they become, which leads to more mistakes, which confirms your suspicion that they need even more managing. Understanding this loop is the first step to breaking it. Subscribe for more leadership insights every week. // NEWSLETTER Want to build your best team ever? Join 25,000+ leaders who receive these insights in my free newsletter: https://davidburkus.com/youtube // SPEAKING Like what you heard? Learn more or find out how to bring me to your company or event: https://davidburkus.com/keynote-speaker/ // ABOUT DAVID One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David’s forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are changing how companies approach leadership, teamwork, and collaboration. A skilled researcher and inspiring communicator, Dr. David Burkus is the bestselling author of five books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. Since 2017, David has been ranked multiple times as one of the world’s top business thought leaders. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS Mornings. A former business school professor, David now works with leaders from organizations across all industries, including PepsiCo, Fidelity, Adobe, and NASA. David’s keynotes aren’t just entertaining and enlightening—they’re evidence-based and immensely practical, offering leaders at all levels a set of actionable takeaways they can implement immediately. //CONNECT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidburkus/ Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/davidburkus Facebook: http://www.FB.com/DrDavidBurkus Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DavidBurkus
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