The Employee Death Grip
It always surprises me to see leaders who hold onto their staff with The Employee Death Grip, which happens to be a distant cousin of the iPhone 4 death grip. The iPhone 4 receives bad frequency, bad performance and drops calls altogether if you hold it with the death grip. Similarly, death grip employees will have bad performance, a bad connection and will leave altogether. This grip is a feature of leaders who are unwilling to let their employees out of their grips for fear of losing the employee or losing control.
When I was a young Warden, my mentor and boss would frequently tell me this regarding my staff members. “Scott, hold onto your team loosely, because ultimately they are not yours to hold onto.” That statement has always stuck with me!
If we hold onto our employees loosely, they feel the freedom of the open hands which ultimately increases productivity and develops leaders. Encouraging your employees to “grow and go” will result in you losing some great ones from time to time. The harvest of the open hand abundance mentality will always be replenished. On the other hand The Employee Death Grip scarcity harvest will quickly dry up. My team has lost a harvest of amazing team members in the last year and that harvest has been replenished with some equally amazing team members without missing a beat.
Scarcity Mentality – Not enough good to go around vs. Abundance Mentality – There is more than enough great to go around.
If you are in an Employee Death Grip situation encourage the leader to get a grip and open their hands.
Let Go! dream BIG. think BIGGER.
Share your thoughts and experiences about The Employee Death Grip.
