Leadership and Managing the Line

In business, there’s a critical difference between just managing and actually leading. A manager keeps the ship afloat—a leader makes sure it’s heading in the right direction (and not straight into an iceberg). While the manager checks off tasks, the leader builds a team that takes initiative and solves problems before they turn into disasters.

But here’s where it gets dicey: defining where responsibilities start and end. You want a team that’s proactive, but you also don’t want them running into each other—or worse, assuming “someone else” is handling something, only to have it implode. This is where the concept of "managing the line" becomes crucial. The best managers don’t just delegate; they make sure there are no gaps in the system where things can fall through. If you’re doing it right, your team should be working like a well-synchronized relay race—not a game of hot potato where someone (or everyone) drops the proverbial spud.

The Tennis Match Analogy

Picture a tennis match. At first, you’re playing solo—running back and forth, hitting every shot, covering every inch of the court. It’s exhausting, but hey, you’re getting the job done. Then business picks up, so you bring in a doubles partner. Fantastic! Now there are two of you! Each of you covers your own box on the court. You each know you need to manage everything that comes at you, as long as it's in your box. But soon, problems arise—balls start landing right on the line. You think your partner has it, they think you do, and—bam—the ball zips right past both of you. Awkward.

So, you bring in another player to cover the gaps. Great! Until—you guessed it—new gaps appear. The more people you add, the more balls you can hit, right? Wrong. You've got too many people handing too many small areas, and with each handoffs come confusion. The more handoffs you have, the more “I thought you had it!” moments happen.

"More people" isn't always the answer. How can you make sure those transitions are smooth? How can you make sure nothing gets through the line?

Start by defining exactly who is responsible for what. What's the box? Where's everyone else's box? Reinforce accountability. And, most importantly, never assume that “someone else” has it covered unless you’ve explicitly made sure of it.

Instructive vs. Descriptive Communication

Managing these transition points isn’t about hoping for the best—it requires crystal-clear communication. You need to over communicate. This doesn't mean drowning your team in emails and meetings, but it does mean you must be specific and instructive rather than vague and confusing.

In fact, one of the biggest managerial fails I've seen is assuming people understand what you mean just because you do. Descriptive communication leaves too much to interpretation; instructive communication removes all doubt.

For example, let’s say you’re delegating a task:

• Descriptive: “Make sure the report is completed by Friday.”
• Instructive: “By Friday at noon, send me a finalized report on Q3 sales performance, including an analysis of trends, key insights, and recommendations for improvement. Double-check that the formatting matches our standard report template before submitting.”

See the difference? The second version tells exactly what’s needed, by when, and in what format. No frantic Slack messages at 11:59 AM. No last-minute panic. No passive-aggressive sighs.

Or let’s take customer service:

• Descriptive: “Be sure to provide great customer service.”
• Instructive: “When greeting a customer, smile, make eye contact, and ask how you can assist them. If they have a complaint, listen attentively, acknowledge their concern, and follow the protocol for resolving issues, which includes offering a solution or escalating the problem if necessary.”

The second version removes the guesswork. Employees aren’t left wondering what “great customer service” means—they know exactly what to do.

Structuring Communication for Seamless Handoffs

This level of clarity is especially important when work is passed between teams. A sloppy transition can create delays, frustration, or, worst of all, an angry client with an email subject line that reads: Urgent: Why Is This So Screwed Up?

Let’s say a sales team closes a deal and hands it off to the onboarding team:

• Descriptive: "The sales team closed a deal with Client X. They're ready for onboarding.”
• Instructive: "Client X signed a contract for our Premium Package. Their onboarding call is scheduled for Monday at 10 AM. They need training on our software and have requested additional support in setting up their dashboard. Please send them a welcome email today and confirm that they have access to their login credentials."

Instructive communication means no one is left scrambling. Expectations are set, responsibilities are assigned, and accountability is built in.

Great Leaders Manage the Line

Managing the line isn’t just about delegation—it’s about making sure work flows smoothly, leadership is cultivated, and communication is so clear that no one can say, “Oh, I didn’t know I was supposed to do that.” The true test of a manager’s success isn’t how much they personally get done—it’s how well their team functions without them.

The best companies don’t just have talented people. They have teams that work like a well-oiled machine, where everyone knows their role, transitions are seamless, and communication is crisp. At the end of the day, a manager’s legacy isn’t about how many tasks they checked off—it’s about how many leaders they developed.

So, step back, manage the line, and let your team shine. Just make sure no one’s standing there wondering whose job it was to hit the ball.