--- title: "Why Are You, the Boss, So Busy?" description: "In management practice, we often see a 'leadership anomaly' where many business owners are actually led by their subordinates. This article explores why bosses end up being led by their employees and how to reverse this dynamic through proper delegation and empowerment." author: "New Distribution" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2014-05-27" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/why-are-you-the-boss-so-busy-7df80737/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/why-are-you-the-boss-so-busy-7df80737.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uj9cQcSLl7Y0xhatMGdndw" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E8%80%81%E6%9D%BF%E4%BD%A0%E4%B8%BA%E4%BB%80%E4%B9%88%E4%BC%9A%E9%82%A3%E4%B9%88%E5%BF%99-7df80737.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/why-are-you-the-boss-so-busy-7df80737/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # Why Are You, the Boss, So Busy? > In management practice, we often see a 'leadership anomaly' where many business owners are actually led by their subordinates. This article explores why bosses end up being led by their employees and how to reverse this dynamic through proper delegation and empowerment. **Warm Reminder:** Click the blue text above, "FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting," to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management content. **Introduction:** In management practice, we often see a 'leadership anomaly': many business owners are actually led by their subordinates. According to management theory, leadership is the ability of a person to influence others, referring to the process by which leaders influence subordinates to achieve organizational goals. In any organization, the leader is the highest position, and the business owner is naturally the leader. However, in management practice, we often see a 'leadership anomaly': many business owners are actually led by their subordinates. In Chinese enterprises, a typical day for many bosses goes like this: as soon as they arrive at work, there are already several people queuing at the office door to ask for instructions. After listening to one subordinate's report, another comes to ask for guidance, and while talking, the phone might ring. Just after handling that, another problem arises elsewhere waiting for you to solve. Then it might be meeting time, where department heads raise issues and demands, waiting for the boss to come up with solutions. Many bosses say they are busy and tired, but they don't realize that the status between boss and subordinate has been reversed. The boss is being led by the nose by subordinates without realizing it. Strong bosses are being reverse-led by weak subordinates! This is definitely not an isolated case. In the governance of most small and medium-sized enterprises in China, the boss plays a special role and should enjoy supreme power. However, many business owners cannot experience the supreme pleasure of leadership. The reason for the status reversal with subordinates and being led around by them is actually due to the bosses' own leadership styles. Generally speaking, many bosses have the following three characteristics when employing people: **First, they are always afraid that subordinates will not do things well.** Therefore, they like to give instructions everywhere, causing subordinates not to make decisions on anything, and even not to work when the boss is absent. **Second, they are hands-on and want to control everything themselves.** However, they lack systematic control methods. Therefore, they require subordinates to act according to instructions, and it becomes necessary to report early and ask for instructions late. Usually, the boss's orders are orders, and suggestions are also orders. Even if employees do not understand, they must follow. Gradually, subordinates develop a workplace mentality of 'not seeking merit but avoiding fault,' and 'preferring to do less rather than more,' waiting for the boss to make decisions on everything. **Third, they are afraid of being 'sidelined.'** Therefore, some bosses not only bypass the vice president level to directly deploy and check work with middle management, but some even go further to directly command frontline employees. In some small enterprises, not only do middle managers have to report directly to the boss, but factory production workers, equipment maintenance personnel, salespeople, and warehouse keepers can all send text messages directly to the boss to report work. As a result, the boss is not only the leader of the enterprise but also the firefighter. The boss is both the coach and the athlete. Not only is the vice president level not responsible, but the department manager level is also not responsible, because all work is directly arranged and deployed by the boss. Decentralization and delegation are the only way to grow and strengthen an enterprise. Only through reasonable and effective delegation and decentralization can responsibilities be broken down and the enthusiasm of subordinates be stimulated and mobilized. However, some bosses do not understand delegation and decentralization, so they get involved in everything and make all decisions themselves, leading to a daily schedule that is overwhelming, leaving them exhausted and miserable. But often, the boss's opinions are not necessarily correct, because the boss is not omnipotent and cannot know everything. However, in small and medium-sized enterprises, subordinates have learned to be polite because they must obey orders, and they generally do not question the boss face-to-face. The boss's opinions must be followed whether they are right or wrong. Even if subordinates find that the boss's instructions are problematic or simply unworkable, they do not act. As a result, many bosses eventually have to personally solve the problems they created. This is the root cause of why many bosses are always busy—cleaning up their own messes. Thus, a common phenomenon in enterprises is: when the boss grabs work, subordinates have nothing to do; when the boss is busy, subordinates secretly rejoice. A busy boss always has a group of idle subordinates. Moreover, idle subordinates do not appreciate the boss; instead, they watch the boss's performance and wait to see the boss make a fool of themselves. So, as long as the boss interferes with delegated work, subordinates either wait for the boss to fail or wait to shift responsibility. Because only if the boss fails can it prove that the boss is not better than them, and they can also avoid punishment. If the boss blames them for messing things up, they will think that if the boss had not interfered, they would have succeeded—they will directly shift the blame onto the boss. Moreover, an idle subordinate will definitely stir up some trouble to show their existence, and then wait for the boss to solve it. Therefore, if the boss competes with employees for work, they will never win. Subordinates will forever use this simplest and most boring means to 'lead' those bosses who think they are smart! For business owners, it is essential to face employees' wisdom with an open mind, learn to delegate, learn to trust others, learn to use systems and rules, and learn to control processes with systematic methods. At the same time, they must dare to throw employees into the water and let them paddle on their own, at most giving them swimming lessons. This way, your effectiveness will be much higher. Otherwise, in the end, only the boss is fighting alone, and the boss will always be a loner. --- **Like this article? 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