Should I Give Some Leeway?

July 4 fell on a Thursday — and many ABC employees had planned to take the next day off and make it a long weekend.  

But the division head said absolutely not. They were to be back in the office on the 5th.

When Disney President Bob Iger found out the staff had been told to return, he reportedly scolded the supervisor, telling him he was the only one in the company forcing his employees back.  

The anecdote, shared by a former ABC employee in The New York Times last week, was a snapshot into why Iger’s return to Disney has been widely celebrated — and a key lesson into little gestures that can go a long way with our teams.

Just about all of us set the highest standards for the individuals we’re leading. We want to win the most games, gross the highest revenue, secure championships and promotions. 

These ambitions typically go hand in hand with putting in the most work and out-sweating our competitors.

But sometimes, little gestures like giving a team a day off, allowing one member to leave a little early for an important outside commitment, giving someone just a bit of leeway for a rare infraction, can be worth the tradeoff.

While our team members must be held accountable to our standards, they’re far more likely to perform at higher levels long term if they feel valued as more than just production machines.

We may want to consider these three questions before choosing whether to bend our rules or give someone the benefit of the doubt for an unexpected time-off request:

1. Has this person/group earned credibility with us through effort and production levels to this point?

2. Is the reason for missing the team event an isolated occurrence or part of a pattern?

3. Will this negatively impact our team long term or can what we lose on this day be compensated for in another way?

This doesn’t mean we should tolerate every excuse or give team members day off after day off while lowering our commitment standards. After all, they have a duty to be with us and consummately exhibit professionalism. 

But maximizing our team's productivity isn’t always about demanding more time and greater effort.

On occasion, it’s giving those we lead a little break.