Don't Be A Bossy Boots

One of the best pieces of advice I have gotten on how to treat and work with those that report to you in the workplace came through an MBA professor - Luis Martins. He said in order for someone to be an effective manager they have to learn to delegate. That means they have to be good at getting work done through other people. That seems intuitive to most but I submit it is not. And delegating well is even harder. People want to hang on to control over not just the type of task delegated but the "how" of the task, i.e. they want to control every aspect of how the delegated task gets done. The problem then becomes the effect of this type of managerial behavior on managers' work and on those that report to them. When managers try to control the "how", managers are failing to manage. They are doing, not managing. Further, the direct reports feel like they are being micromanaged. They feel their boss finds them incompetent and untrustworthy. Those kinds of feelings do not create a healthy working environment. Managers have to trust their reports, give them the task, and then release their reports to do the task. Trust them. You manage, don't do. It will foster a better work environment for all and allow you to do the job of managers.