Inspire Ownership

I was talking to a client today about being in the squeeze. His major issue - he had been hired to do a job but was being constantly undermined every time he tried to make a decision. He felt his boss was preventing him from being effective at his job by keeping him from having any true decision-making authority.

There are two ends to this spectrum - the micro-manager and the aloof manager. Neither is good and I'm not sure which is worse. But I can say that the micro-manager does one thing that really cuts the legs out from under you as a manager - they allow you to go down a path so far, even leading others down that path, only to later question you and force you to go backward and change course. This tells you and everyone around you that your boss believes only they have the ability to truly make good decisions. This is a cancerous message if left unchallenged.

Don't leave this bully unquestioned. True, they are your boss, so don't be disrespectful, but also don't be afraid to be confrontational. Take this from someone who has been there before and has witnessed others in the same position - its not going to get better. You're just going to be more frustrated.

Its also up to you to remember this when you're dealing with people you're responsible for. Don't undermine their decisions. Let them have ownership of what they do. And when you do, make sure they feel the swell of their success as well as the gravity of their failure. Having ownership over a role is the only way anyone can truly grow and become the kind of person that impacts a business. You need this type of ownership and so do others around you. Don't settle for anything less.