Are You the “Whac-A-Mole” Boss? How Coaching Beats the Game of Catching Mistakes
Imagine your workplace as a giant Whac-A-Mole game—except your team members are the moles, and each time a mistake pops up, you grab your mallet and try to smack it down. The pattern is unpredictable: sometimes one error appears, sometimes several at once, keeping you on edge and constantly reacting.
Image: Rafael AI
Written by: G. Selah
Workplace Whac-A-Mole game, replacing stuffed animals with the team? Are you the “gotcha” boss: clutching the mallet, eyes scanning for the next mistake to appear? Every time someone slips up, whack! Down goes the mole, and up goes the tension.
Instead of building trust or sparking innovation, everyone’s busy ducking from the mallet, hoping not to be the next target. It stops people from learning, growing, or innovating. Instead of thriving, employees are stuck in survival mode, afraid to speak up or try new things.
Micromanaging every detail, doubting their team’s abilities, and wondering why no one steps up or takes initiative. It’s a lonely place to be, tangled in mistrust and control, spiraling into frustration. The irony? That very fear and mistrust they create ultimately backfires—killing creativity and freezing innovation faster than the office coffee disappears on a Monday morning.
But what if the approach changed? Imagine a leader who walks in and says, “What do you think happened here?” rather than “Why did you mess up?” Suddenly, the mood shifts. That question invites ownership instead of blame. Curiosity replaces fear, and innovation is given room to take root. This kind of leadership fosters a culture where mistakes are simply opportunities to learn and improve.
Research backs this up, too. A 2022 study published in PMC highlights how toxic leadership styles increase employee burnout, lower job satisfaction, and raise tendencies toward workplace deviance. A 2024 report from ScienceDirect further found that dysfunctional leadership suppresses motivation and innovation while ramping up cynicism and absenteeism. These studies paint a clear picture: fear-based management might keep immediate problems in check, but it creates deeper, long-term damage that can cripple a team and an organization.
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Worried you might also be running the Whac-A-Mole booth? Suppose your feedback only appears when something goes wrong, and mistakes incite personal critiques. In that case, you micromanage every detail, or you’re haunted by high turnover and low morale, you might be wielding that mallet a little too often.
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Signs you are are “Wac-A-Mole” boss:
- Feedback shows up mostly when things go wrong, not as part of ongoing coaching.
- Mistakes are seen as personal failures, not shared learning moments.
- You find yourself micromanaging every little detail rather than trusting your team.
- High turnover and low morale are constant headaches.
- You feel the need to control everything, worried you’ll lose authority otherwise.
Shift from “Wac-A-Mole Boss” to leader and coach:
- Replace blame with questions that spark ownership, like “How might we fix this together?”
- Set up regular coaching sessions where your goal is to develop, not judge.
- Listen actively—share observations and ask for your team’s perspective.
- Show vulnerability; admit when you don’t have all the answers.
- Build peer coaching—create a culture of support that goes beyond your direct control.
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You’ll know you’re moving in the right direction when your team starts volunteering ideas without hesitation, collaboration grows, errors decline, morale rises, and you confidently delegate without anxiety.
Trade the “Whac-A-Mole” Hammer for Leadership Tools!
Transformations aren’t easy—especially when habits are deeply ingrained. That’s where having a skilled coach helps. Coaching gives you a safe space to uncover blind spots, practice new leadership styles, and navigate setbacks. It’s the bridge between who you are now and who you want to become.
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References: PMC 2022 study on toxic leadership effects (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9760724/), ScienceDirect 2024 report on dysfunctional leadership and innovation (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1029313223000775). Because when it comes to leading teams, science says coaching beats fear every time.
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