Management - not Command and Control
When I became the manager of the team, I thought:
Yes, I now have the authority to have the team do things my way.
How wrong did that thought turn out to be.
Whenever I used my authority to have the team do what I want them to, it’s never done well.
- I need to tell them exactly what to do in the current situation - they won’t get it done as well as I want.
- If I don’t do the first step, I need to monitor the result exactly and provide feedback when the result is not what I want.
Both ways are draining and feels like I am doing more work to get what
I want. Instead of having my output multiplied by n for each team
member, it’s really n/2 with me staying on top of every piece of
work.
I understand this as a command and control paradigm. The team can view this as: “micro-managing”.
This approach frustrates everyone:
- Me: because I’m basically just doing my old job “with authority” and not doing any “cool managerial” work.
- Team members: because they have to follow my plans or expectations OR feel my wrath.
Neither way is how I want to operate.
How can I find a way to get everyone working together that is
enjoyable and even getting better than n output?
I cover that in the next article.