As a manager, stay away from your best performers

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

I believe there are two ways to look at the role of a leader within an organization or team.

One approach praises the very hands-on leader who has a definitive opinion on many details of the product and how work should be organized. By participating in most (or all) review and decision meetings, they become a choke point and often a nuisance that their teammates learn to work around.

If the company or team they run is any good, they must usually have excellent taste, a certain level of aggressiveness, and work at least 110 hours per week. They often (but not always) become the public face of whatever it is that they're working on, shining a bright spotlight on how they contributed to its success.

I have mad respect for those leaders. But I believe there is another way that can also work very well.

(Side note: if you're a micromanager without a stroke of genius, I am sorry, but there is just no hope for you.)

It's the Verne Harnish's thought that leaders should focus on "getting the right people on the bus in the right seats on the bus."

It's what Jason Fried describes so perfectly as "Staying out of it" .

But what is left to do if you exclude yourself from many things?

It's about having the focus and energy to relentlessly plant the flag and motivate everyone to march towards it no matter how steep the hill is.

The goal needs to be defined and constantly redefined, as circumstances change. It should be communicated through multiple facets, with always the right amount of details and reiterated many times. The vision for the future needs to be compelling and specific enough that if the teammates close their eyes, they can see it clearly and they can't wait to make it a reality. Aside from describing what's important, leaders should be explicit about what no one should focus on, describe trade-offs the team is facing, and give guidance on how to navigate them.

After some time, people get tired and discouraged because not everything is working out, so the leader needs to put that in the context of a greater story that we're all heroes of and re-motivate the team by showing that this is just a peripeteia and, as we all know, the good guys win soon after.

When you've set up the direction and people are marching towards it, there is no need to help them make their steps. The leader should be working miles ahead, prepping the trail, and removing obstacles. If is doing this part of the job is done right, there is a high chance no one from the team will have any idea it's being done at all, as it prevents problems before they become problems.

In summary, there is a whole lot that great "hands-off" leaders can do, and even more that they can mess up.

Long story short:

Don't be this guy:

Be this guy. Maybe.