As I ask this question I only request that you answer truthfully. Is your agency experiencing turn over or are you compromising your standards to keep personnel in positions that you know are not qualified?
When I meditated on this I truly had to dig deep and evaluate myself as a manager. This was not an easy task as we all want to see ourselves as doing the best in our role and position as a leader. In order to get to the root of my underlying issue I had to be honest with myself. I came to the conclusion that for many years I was guilty of justifying reasons behind my actions as I made peace with the decisions to keep personnel who were not performing to standards. By doing this, I temporarily soothed my ego but did nothing to resolve the growing conflicts arising in my center. My biggest ah-ha moment during this time of reflection was the fact that the common component in each of the circumstances was fear. Fear of having a difficult conversation, fear of upsetting others, fear of self-doubt and more often, fear of the unknown.
In truth, my fears kept me from leading. By withholding I created a ripple effect that impacted the overall performance of my center, better yet, the reputation I was trying to build. The good news around this new level of awareness is the fact that you can course correct from any starting place. In order to lead you have to know your values and the end result of what you want to accomplish. Until you ask yourself, “What do I want? “you will find that you are rowing in a rotational pattern and getting nowhere but dizzy, tired and frustrated.