While it?s tempting, as a leader, to feel that you need to control everything that?s happening in your organization, the strategy will ultimately rob you of your productive time. Even King Midas, famous for his golden touch, learned that over involvement can produce poor outcomes.
It?s good that people have a strong desire to make sure that things are done the correct way. The problem with this behavior starts when you become afraid to let go.
You?re constantly checking other people?s work. Maybe you?ve let it be known that no decision cannot be made without your blessing.
All of these little tasks start to add up and soon, they dominate your day, leaving you little time to pursue your big picture goals.
I?ve seen effective leaders derailed by things like having to choose the kind of toilet paper that should be used in an office or the correct way to fold a letter in an envelope.
In these cases, you need to let go of some of the responsibility. If the outcome of the task is not significant, then do you really need to be involved?
On the other hand, if people can’t meet your defined expectations, then you need to either give that person a new task or let them go.
Sometimes, you don?t seek out these time consuming, low value tasks but find that they come to you. This can happen when people either don?t know what to do or believe that they can?t make a decision without your blessing.
Both situations can be solved with training. Make sure people know how you want things done and give them the power to make decisions without you.
This doesn?t mean that you can?t have some involvement. For instance, you may like legal pads that feature wider lines. In this case, make your preference known and leave it at that. You don?t need to research legal pads or shop for them.
There?s a difference between having a hands-on style and needing to touch everything. One sees you leading a group, while the other has you babysitting them.
Increasing your team?s sense of responsibility can also make them less passive when it comes to problem solving, something that will ultimately strengthen your organization.
