Similar to previous posts about managing during a crisis, and micromanagement of teams, there are also situations where you as the manager in a crisis could fall into the trap of managing the “little” things and by doing so bog your team down to such an extent that they cannot move forward and thus the downward spiral to non-delivery begins.
These types of managers could possibly feel that they are managing their teams or business units quite effectively by focusing on the “detail”, and yet as with micromanaging by focusing on the nitty-gritty items, you – the manager lose sight of what you are actually there to do and that is to enable your team in order to implement the “Big” picture items which will assist your company to move forward towards the overall goals.
If you bog your team down, i.e. keep them busy with a lot of tasks that will not move you close to your end goals, your team will basically lose all forward momentum and you will not have any forward movement.
The best way to avoid suffocating your team would be to allow them to get on with the job at hand and not get involved in the HOW, but rather the WHY and WHAT of delivering. So whether you are delivering on strategic projects or day to day process improvement or anything that will move your company forward, the same applies.
Focus on the WHY – why are we implementing solution B, ensure your team understands this, and leave them to implement. They now know how important this is and what the benefit will be for your company and so on.
Then the WHAT – Obviously the output needs to come in a specified format be it online, paper or product / app-based. Whatever the outcome ensure that your team understands this upfront and leave them to get on with it.
Now just as a side note, I am not saying leave the team on their own and only drive the deadlines, you still need to be involved and keep tabs on what is happening on the floor, but leave the detail nitty-gritty for the team to resolve, and assist with the direction, rather than trying to “solve” problems that are not yours to solve.
Remember your team now understands the Why and the What, let them worry about the how. Inevitably that is why you have a delivery team, and if you could do it better, well then why have a delivery team in the first place? Let them succeed by not suffocating them.
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