Managers, let your people do their thing!

What is the most difficult thing for managers and leaders to do? Craft and oversee budgets? Nah. Public speaking? Ah, no. Making tough decisions? That's a challenge but no. I'd argue the most difficult thing for most managers is taking their hands off the controls to leave decisions and day-to-day operations in the hands of their people.

Think about it - almost all of us (if not all) have worked for someone who just can't let go of routine decisions and processes. They insist on having a hand in the most trivial issues, often times disrupting a strong, progressive workflow or taking the wind completely out of the sails of their team 

Why does this happen? I mean aren't leaders supposed to know how to set the direction for the team, inspiring them to achieve the loftiest goals? Well, the working world would surely be a better place if that were the case. Take a moment to think about how many leaders have come into positions of responsibility: they were promoted or found a path of career progression from jobs of less responsibility. They used to be the ones crunching the budget numbers, designing the creative work or putting together a comprehensive event schedule. Over time, they promoted because they were good at these tasks, which also made them incredibly comfortable because they almost became second nature. Trouble is for some, they can't let go of the past and they continue to insert themselves where they no longer belong. They feel they have to have their stamp on EVERYTHING! 

Being a leader or manager can be hard work. You face tough decisions and sometimes have to participate in processes and meetings that just aren't that sexy. What often happens is people revert back to their comfort zones; the times where they had their hands on the details of daily operations. That can be a recipe for failure. Does it really matter if a memo uses "difficult" instead of "challenging" in addressing the budget landscape? What difference does it make if a project outline is formatted differently than you would have done it? Or that the PowerPoint slides have a different layout than you used to choose? 

The point is this, managers and leaders. The more you stay involved in processes that should be in the hands of your team you are doing two things: 1. You are undermining your own staff for the sake of your own perceived satisfaction that things are being done your way; 2. You're probably taking time away from the duties and responsibilities that really need your attention. The moral of the story is stay involved but stay out of the way. A good leader surrounds themselves with people who are highly skilled and very capable of making sound recommendations and putting together a solid product. Trust in their abilities. Many times there are 20 ways to get from A to B. Your job as a manager or leader is to provide the destination and some general guidelines. Let your people sort out how to get there effectively.