Most employees come to work and are eager to do good work. They also want to develop mastery, according to studies reported by Daniel Pink in his book Drive. Yet, often we see managers stifling the engagement of the employee.
One way we do this is by delegating too specifically. Suppose I want the employee to rearrange the shelf of product on aisle 3? If I tell them that I want the larger cans on the bottom and the smaller on top they leave with the idea that I don’t trust their judgment, I am a micro manager and so on. But if I ask them to go look it over and come back to me with a plan, it may very well be that they want to larger cans on the bottom also. But now they own the idea. Now they feel like they have contributed to the solution. Now they are engaged.
Often supervisors and managers are so busy that they just want to get things done and so they delegate the outcome and the method they know “best”, so they can move on. But as a leader they are failing in their role of developing people.
It is like the sales manager that is out riding with their sales person and at the last moment steps in to close the sale. That is not their job! It’s the job of the sales rep. Their job is to coach the sales person on what went well and where they might improve their performance.
Questions to consider:
1) Are you too busy to develop your people? 2)If so who is going to the leader behind you as you move up?
Thanks for reading and take good care,
