1 – A leader should have all the answers
Quite the contrary, you work with brilliant people and they have tons to share with you and can´t wait to do so. Saying you don’t know shows to others you are confident in not knowing and also invites them to shine and grow. You will engage and motivate your colleagues and peers so much more by regularly stating:
´I don´t know – what do you think?´
2 – I have to be there to support my team
Quite the contrary. There´s a lot of hand-holding, over-caring and over supporting out there. Your team shines and thrives when you step away from your team members regulary. You get to focus on what´s most important for you in your role and they get to do the same in their roles. That´s how you create amazing teams of fully motivated, committed and driven leaders. And that´s how you grow more leaders.
– The ultimate goal of leadership is to grow more leaders
3 – Micromanagement is a horrible thing
It´s not. Many times as the leader you are the one who has the most experience. Then it makes sense for you to train, give detailed instructions, and to set very clear expectations for your team. Yes, too much is definitely too much, but we all need a little bit of micromanaging and it´s essential in getting everyone into systems and processes and establishing shared working norms and routines. Yes, it can be a bit tedious, but nevertheless, a good dosage of micromanaging is just as valuable as asking open questions, listening and making sure all everyone has the freedom to do their work in their own unique ways.
Leadership balance
In leadership we need a little bit of everything to create a good balance.
We need to micromanage and instruct, but we also need to coach, listen, and give recognition.
We need to set overall direction, but we also need to let people decide specifically where to get to and work out how to get there themselves.
Allowing a little bit of everything means things come into balance.
And things in balance grow.
