How much authority do I really have to make decisions?
In what situations do I need to get permission from you before proceeding?
As my supervisor, is what you just said a suggestion or a command?
I feel like I’m being micro-managed and not trusted to make decisions
Have you ever been on the giving or receiving end of some of the above statements and questions? Have you ever thought, but not felt free to speak out on these issues?
In my coaching, I’m running into this confusion, this tension, quite a bit lately. Some leaders are not sure if they should keep control of certain decisions or let others decide. Some leaders (for a number of reasons) are flat out afraid to let others decide almost anything and are, for all practical purposes, “Control Freaks.”
Here is a link to an article on my website that has greatly benefited many of my coaching clients with this issue Levels of Authority. Several have told me that this article by Michael Hyatt is “Pure Gold” and has helped them immensely in delegating appropriate decision-making authority to those looking to them for leadership.
For the remainder of this post, I would like to unpack a few key words that explain where I’ve landed after lots of hours thinking through the issue of authority and decision-making.
WHERE, WHY, WHAT, HOW and WHEN
At this point in time, I’m of the opinion that the main leader (or executive leadership team) should be tasked with determining WHERE we’re going and WHY we’re going there. People working with a leader need to have clarity as to what the big picture being pursued looks like and why we are heading there. Unfortunately this is not always the case, because it’s not clear at the top.
In a Christian context this necessitates hearing from the Holy Spirit as to where the group, team, church or organization needs to be heading; what our vision and desires are for the future, and why this is important to us. This takes time and a great deal of listening to Him.
The people in your organization, or on your team, who will be following a pathway to get to that desired future, should be free to determine WHAT they will do, HOW they will do it and WHEN they will do it. This comes with a big assumption that the people you hired, or brought on as volunteers, are capable of “Figuring It Out.”
If you don’t believe they can figure out what to do, how to do it and when to do it, why did you onboard them in the first place? Your vetting and hiring process should be revisited. Of course, there will be training and development along the way to further equip them in their role and responsibilities, but (referring to “Levels of Authority) you don’t want the people to be at levels 1-3 forever with you making all the decisions.
This is a recipe for disaster resulting in unengaged and unmotivated people.
After over a ½ century of majoring in developing leaders, I have seen more problems occur because the wrong people were brought onboard and then were micro-managed because they weren’t capable, or not trusted, to do what was assigned to them.
If you hired people you trust, then trust the people you hired! If you hired people you don’t trust, perhaps it’s time to revisit how you onboard people.
I’ve been around for a long time, and I’ve met very few, almost none, who like to have someone always looking over their shoulder telling them what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Maybe kids need it, but I question if the average adult needs that kind of suffocating oversight. It was the late author Warren Bennis who said, “Most organizations are over-managed and under-led.” Given my experiencing at this point, I wholehearted agree.
If you are in the top leadership group, by all means give people the WHERE and the WHY, but leave the WHAT, HOW and WHEN up to them. They will surprise you with what they come up with and how well they perform when they have skin in the game!
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