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Being a great manager isn’t only about solving problems for your team—it’s also about equipping them to solve problems without you. Here’s how to support your team, delegate more effectively, and let go of feeling personally responsible for every decision. The first step is understanding what beliefs underpin your current behavior. Do you worry your team will crumble under pressure and make you look bad? Do you believe your value depends on your ability to represent everything your team produces? Next, build trust in your team’s ability to problem solve—and explicitly express that trust to them. This means getting more comfortable with mistakes; allowing your team to fail (and learn) independently is a faster path to growth and long-term success than ensuring the short-term outcomes are well controlled. To do this, create an optimistic and experimental team culture, embrace a collective growth mindset, and reduce guesswork by communicating your expectations and needs. Along the way, be available to provide your team with support and tools for navigating challenges. Whether the issue is technical or interpersonal, your job is to help them develop options for handling the situation—without you—now and in the future. |
| This tip is adapted from “How to Equip Your Team to Problem Solve Without You,” by Luis Velasquez and Kristin Gleitsman (From HBR) |
