Sometimes leadership means letting someone else do it.
One of the harder lessons I've had to learn about leadership is that being capable of doing something doesn't always mean you should be the one doing it.
When you've been doing something for a long time, it's easy to step in.
You know the answer.
You know how you'd handle it.
And sometimes you could probably get it done faster yourself.
But every time we immediately take over, we may also take away someone else's opportunity to learn.
Real development requires a little room.
Room to think.
Room to make decisions.
Room to struggle.
And yes ....... sometimes room to get it wrong.
That doesn't mean abandoning people and calling it empowerment.
It means being close enough to support them without needing to control every step.
I've had people throughout my career who trusted me with responsibility before I was completely comfortable carrying it.
Looking back, some of those moments probably taught me more than another training class ever could.
And as I've gotten further into my career, I've realized part of my responsibility is to do the same for someone else.
Leadership isn't proving how much you can do.
Sometimes it's creating the opportunity for someone else to discover what they can do.
Lead | Listen | Deliver
Who gave you an opportunity before you were completely ready for it?
Comments