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 ⁠frontdesk@jane.app⁠.

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.

Chapters

• 0:01 The Leadership Seesaw
• 1:10 Balancing Relationships and Boundaries
• 2:14 The Art of Delegation
• 3:17 Power of Reflection
• 4:39 Finding Your Balance

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Oh, hi, it's Demzel. Okay, do you remember seesaws when I was a kid, I loved that feeling mid-air when both sides were perfectly level, but that only lasted a second until you went up in the air and the other person went down. Leadership kind of feels like that sometimes, don't you think Very up and down. This feeling came back to me recently when I was hosting an episode of Radio Front Desk. I was chatting with Dr Manju Asdir. She's a chiropractor, mentor, multi-clinic owner and now a leadership coach and our conversation really got me thinking. We weren't talking about the big wins or the obvious failures. We were talking about all those subtle tensions in between the stuff you're balancing every single day as a leader, like being present and strategic, empathetic and boundaried, hands-off and hands-on and it made me reflect on some of the balances I'm still learning to navigate. So I thought I'd share a few and maybe see if they resonate with you too.

Speaker 1: 1:10

First off, balancing relationship building with boundary setting. Work relationships are tricky. You're always juggling that push and pull, working closely with your team while still keeping a bit of a professional space. On one hand, you rely on your team, you trust them, you're in the trenches together, building really incredible things. That kind of teamwork can start to feel like a real relationship, but, on the other hand, work relationships aren't friendships or family. There are always going to be boundaries, power dynamics and unspoken lines, even if no one talks about them out loud. Here's one way I've learned to strike a balance. I like to build bonds with my team by being curious about our shared experiences, like chatting about parenthood with those who are also parents, but I also let them take the lead on how much they want to share. But I try not to be intrusive with my questions. The second thing is balancing doing with delegation.

Speaker 1: 2:14

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 not something I've always been great at. I'm a doer. I like taking on challenges. In my mind, being asked to do more has always felt like a sign of trust and validation. But eventually I hit this turning point in leadership where stepping back actually helped more than jumping in. When someone else can give full attention to something I can only halfway focus on, that's a win for everyone. It frees me up and it gives my team space to grow. Of course, getting there takes time. You have to catch those little mentorship moments and choose to teach instead of do. It's not always easy, especially when your instinct is to jump into the fire, but if you let someone else try putting it out, they might just surprise you. And finally, I found the need to balance moving forward with reflecting.

Speaker 1: 3:17

Manju shared a powerful story with me about a real turning point in her career. She just returned from maternity leave when her clinic manager someone she trusted deeply, both as a friend and a key team member gave her notice just two weeks after Manju returned from maternity leave. Naturally she was shaken, but instead of just powering through, she stopped and reflected. She asked herself what her role as a leader might have been in that moment and what she realized was tough. She'd unknowingly created a one-sided relationship. Her clinic manager knew everything about her, but she hadn't taken the time to really understand what was going on in her manager's life. That reflection, the moment of honest self-awareness, pushed Manju to rethink her business and leadership systems and how they were set up, and it changed everything.

Speaker 1: 4:14

I think it's an important reminder. As tempting as it is to always be looking forward as a manager, sometimes the most important things we can learn actually come from taking time to look back. Honestly, I don't think leadership will ever be a perfect balance, but maybe the goal 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 to hear from you what's the hardest leadership balance you're trying to manage right now. Send me an email at frontdesk at janeapp and share some thoughts. Well, that's all for me. Thanks for listening and remember you've got this.