“Don’t make me think about it!”
That was some advice an executive I know shared with one of his direct reports. The executive was not being flippant, he was letting his more junior colleague know that he wanted him to come with well-thought out plans of action.
He was delegating decision making to his subordinate and wanted this individual to pick up the ball and run with it.
Such advice is the opposite of micro-management; call it “I trust you” management. It is something that every executive needs to instill in his or her people.
By permitting employees to think and do for themselves, you prepare them for greater levels of responsibility.
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John Baldoni is chair of leadership development at N2Growth, is an internationally recognized leadership educator and executive coach. In 2014, Trust Across America named him to its list of top 100 most trustworthy business experts. Also in 2014, Inc.com named Baldoni to its list of top 100 leadership experts, and Global Gurus ranked him No. 11 on its list of global leadership experts. Baldoni is the author of more than a dozen books, including his newest, “MOXIE: The Secret to Bold and Gutsy Leadership.”
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