Are you leading with balance? How to lead, delegate, and build clinic trust

Leadership can feel like a constant balancing act, especially when you’re the kind of person who wants to do it all.

In this episode, Denzil reflects on her conversation with chiropractor, clinic owner, and business coach Dr. Manju Asdir, exploring the parts of leadership that can feel a little messy to navigate. Denzil reflects on:

• Why work relationships need both connection and clear boundaries
• How stepping back can empower your team to step up
• Why slowing down to reflect can move your leadership forward faster

For anyone leading a clinic, mentoring a team, or simply trying to grow as a manager, this episode offers thoughtful insights into the quiet, daily balances that shape effective leadership. 

Got a leadership tension you’re working through? We’d love to hear it! Send us a note at ⁠[e-mail]⁠.

And if episodes like this help you lead with more clarity, don’t forget to subscribe and check out Denzil’s bi-weekly newsletter for more reflections.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Oh, hi, it's Demzel.
Okay, do you remember seesawswhen I was a kid, I loved that
feeling mid-air when both sideswere perfectly level, but that
only lasted a second until youwent up in the air and the other
person went down.
Leadership kind of feels likethat sometimes, don't you think

(00:22):
Very up and down.
This feeling came back to merecently when I was hosting an
episode of Radio Front Desk.
I was chatting with Dr ManjuAsdir.
She's a chiropractor, mentor,multi-clinic owner and now a
leadership coach and ourconversation really got me
thinking.
We weren't talking about thebig wins or the obvious failures

(00:44):
.
We were talking about all thosesubtle tensions in between the
stuff you're balancing everysingle day as a leader, like
being present and strategic,empathetic and boundaried,
hands-off and hands-on and itmade me reflect on some of the
balances I'm still learning tonavigate.
So I thought I'd share a fewand maybe see if they resonate

(01:07):
with you too.
First off, balancingrelationship building with
boundary setting.
Work relationships are tricky.
You're always juggling thatpush and pull, working closely
with your team while stillkeeping a bit of a professional
space.
On one hand, you rely on yourteam, you trust them, you're in

(01:30):
the trenches together, buildingreally incredible things.
That kind of teamwork can startto feel like a real
relationship, but, on the otherhand, work relationships aren't
friendships or family.
There are always going to beboundaries, power dynamics and
unspoken lines, even if no onetalks about them out loud.
Here's one way I've learned tostrike a balance.

(01:53):
I like to build bonds with myteam by being curious about our
shared experiences, likechatting about parenthood with
those who are also parents, butI also let them take the lead on
how much they want to share.
But I try not to be intrusivewith my questions.
The second thing is balancingdoing with delegation.

(02:14):
When Manju and I were talking,she said something that really
stuck with me.
She said when you step back,people step up.
And I'll be honest, that's notsomething I've always been great
at.
I'm a doer.
I like taking on challenges.
In my mind, being asked to domore has always felt like a sign

(02:34):
of trust and validation.
But eventually I hit thisturning point in leadership
where stepping back actuallyhelped more than jumping in.
When someone else can give fullattention to something I can
only halfway focus on, that's awin for everyone.
It frees me up and it gives myteam space to grow.
Of course, getting there takestime.

(02:55):
You have to catch those littlementorship moments and choose to
teach instead of do.
It's not always easy,especially when your instinct is
to jump into the fire, but ifyou let someone else try putting
it out, they might justsurprise you.
And finally, I found the needto balance moving forward with

(03:16):
reflecting.
Manju shared a powerful storywith me about a real turning
point in her career.
She just returned frommaternity leave when her clinic
manager someone she trusteddeeply, both as a friend and a
key team member gave her noticejust two weeks after Manju
returned from maternity leave.
Naturally she was shaken, butinstead of just powering through

(03:39):
, she stopped and reflected.
She asked herself what her roleas a leader might have been in
that moment and what sherealized was tough.
She'd unknowingly created aone-sided relationship.
Her clinic manager kneweverything about her, but she
hadn't taken the time to reallyunderstand what was going on in
her manager's life.

(04:00):
That reflection, the moment ofhonest self-awareness, pushed
Manju to rethink her businessand leadership systems and how
they were set up, and it changedeverything.
I think it's an importantreminder.
As tempting as it is to alwaysbe looking forward as a manager,
sometimes the most importantthings we can learn actually

(04:23):
come from taking time to lookback.
Honestly, I don't thinkleadership will ever be a
perfect balance, but maybe thegoal isn't to stay level, maybe
it's to notice the shifts,adjust with care and keep
showing up.
Anyway, as always, I'd love tohear from you what's the hardest
leadership balance you'retrying to manage right now.

(04:46):
Send me an email at frontdeskat janeapp and share some
thoughts.
Well, that's all for me.
Thanks for listening andremember you've got this.