What 50 Shades of Grey can teach us about being a better EMS leader…
If you’ve read the 50 shades trilogy, you know that Anna and Christian have a very complex relationship, one that tests boundaries and where the outcomes are not always as expected. If you’ve been in leadership for any period of time you know that the relationship with your team can be the same… kind of.
Leaders, especially mid level leaders, often tell me that they feel restrained and controlled by policies and procedures that prevent them from being creative and exploring the limits of their team’s capabilities.
If you are in upper management and have the ability to remove the cuffs that limit your people’s freedom and mobility, then do it. Change the rules to allow your team the ability to grow. Be prepared to teach or mentor when needed, praise publicly when expectations are met and chastise (in private) when expectations are not.
When you assign or delegate tasks set the scene, the limits and the boundaries, but within those limits let them explore and experience the adrenaline and endorphin rush that comes from achieving personal and career success.
If you are not in ultimate control, suggest to those above you a well-thought-out pilot program with defined expectations, specific boundaries and time frames. Make sure that in your proposal you identify everything that you’ll need: tools, time, support and budget.
Often leaders describe a feeling of being on top, of having the power and of craving respect. Just as the characters in the trilogy discovered, ‘control’ comes from the top but the true power and respect as a leader and a mentor comes from releasing authority and it ultimately bubbles up from the bottom.
